University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE   CRANE  CLASSICS 


WYANDOT 

FOLK-LORE 


THE  CRANE  CLASSICS 


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THE  CRANE  CLASSICS  furnish  reading  matter  of  a  high  order  for  Teach 
ers,  Reading  Circles,  advanced  class  work,  and  for  select  general  read 
ing.  Numbers  published  are  as  follows : 

1.  SELECTIONS  FROM  IRONQUILL, W.  M.  Davidson. 

2.  JAMES  HENRY  LANE, William  Elsey  Connelley. 

3.  WTANDOT  FOLK-LORE, William  Elsey  Connelley. 

4.  BIRDS  OF  KANSAS, Benjamin  F.  Eyer. 

6.  KANSAS  IN  LITERATURE,  Part  I, William  H.  Carruth. 

6.  KANSAS  IN  LITERATURE,  Part  II, William  H.  Carruth. 

7.  THE  GEOLOGIC  STORY  OF  KANSAS L.  C.  Wooster. 

8.  KANSAS  TERRITORIAL  GOVERNORS, ,  William  Elsey  Connelley. 

9.  PLANTS  AND  FLOWERS  OF  KANSAS, Bernard  B.  Smyth. 

10.  JOHN  BROWN,  Part  I, William  Elaey  Connelley. 

11.  JOHN  BROWN,  Part  II, William  Elsey  Connelley. 

12.  EICHARD  REALF'S  FREE-STATE  POEMS, Richard  J.  Hinton. 

13.  JULIUS  CassAR,  . Introduction  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

14.  MACBETH, Introduction  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

15.  CHARLES  ROBINSON, F.  W.  Blackmar. 

16.  BABBY  REDSTART,  AND  OTHER  BIRD  STORIES, Leander  S.  Keyser. 

17.  STUDY  OF  HISTORY,  SOCIOLOGY,  AND  ECONOMICS, F.  W.  Blackmar. 

18.  SILAS  MARNER,  (double  number)  .   .  Introduction  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

19.  MERCHANT  OF  VENICE, Introduction  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

20.  EVANGELINE, Edited  by  P.  H.  Pearson. 

21.  MACAULAY'S  ESSAY  ON  MILTON, Edited  by  P.  H.  Pearson. 

22.  LOWELL'S  VISION  OF  SIR  LAUNFAL,     .   .   .  Edited  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

23.  WHITTIER'S  SNOW-BOUND, Edited  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

24.  GRANDMOTHER'S  STORY  OF  BUNKER  HILL,  .  Edited  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 
26.  HIAWATHA,  (double  number) Edited  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

26.  THE  MIRACULOUS  PITCHER, Edited  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

27.  THE  COURTSHIP  OF  MILES  STANDISH, Edited  by  P.  H.  Pearson. 

28.  KING  LEAR, Edited  by  Margaret  Hill  McCarter. 

29.  THE  GREAT  STONE  FACE, Edited  by  P.  H.  Pearson. 


Crane  &   Company,  Publishers,    Topeka 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  CLASSICS 
AND  SCHOOL  READINGS 

UNDER  THE   EDITORIAL   SUPERVISION   OF 

W.  M.  DAVIDSON 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  TOPEKA,  KANSAS 


WYANDOT  FOLK-LORE 


TWENTIETH  CENTURY  CLASSICS  AND  SCHOOL  READINGS 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


BY 


WILLIAM   ELSEY  CONNELLEY 

¥ 

Author  of  "  The  Provisional  Government  of  Nebraska  Territory,"  "James  Henry  .Lane, 
The  '  Grim,  Chieftain  '  of  Kansas,"  "  The  Folk-Lore  of  the  Wyandots,"  etc.,  etc. 


"  So  the  day  of  their  glory  is  over, 
And  out  on  the  desolate  waste 
The  far-scattered  remnants  yet  hover, 
Like  shades  of  the  long-vanished  past." 


CRANE  &  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 

TOPEKA,  KANSAS 

1899 


Copyrighted  by 

CRANE  &  COMPANY,  Topeka,  Kansas 
1899 


Lo,  the  poor  Indian,  whose  untutored  mind 
Sees  God  in  clouds  or  hears  him  in  the  wind; 
His  soul  proud  Science  never  taught  to  stray 
Far  as  the  solar  walk,  or  Milky  Way  ; 
Yet  simpler  Nature  to  his  hope  has  given, 
Behind  the  cloud-topped  hill,  an  humbler  heaven  ; 
Some  safer  world,  in  depth  of  wood  embraced, 
Some  happier  island  in  the  watery  waste, 
Where  slaves  once  more  their  native  land  behold, 
No  friends  torment,  no  Christians  thirst  for  gold. 
To  be,  contents  his  natural  desire  ; 
He  asks  no  angel's  wing,  no  seraph' s  fire ; 
But  thinks,  admitted  to  that  equal  sky, 
His  faithful  dog  shall  bear  him  company] 


—  POPE. 


(5) 


I  BTAND  by  our  Grandmother  in  the  great  Yooh-wah-tah-yoh  in 
the  North.  She  speaks  to  me  of  the  land  of  the  Little  People. 
She  directs  us  to  that  land.  She  says  to  me,  "My  son,  take  this 
torch  of  fire.  It  is  made  from  the  brand  given  by  your  Grand 
father.  It  is  a  guide  in  the  darkness  —  a  weapon  powerful  by  the 
way.  These  it  shall  be  to  you  as  you  journey  to  that  land.  And 
I  shall  come  when  all  my  children  are  there." 

I  take  the  torch.  The  darkness  rolls  away.  I  see  afar  the  land 
of  the  Little  People.  It  is  the  land  of  our  Mother,  the  Turtle.  I 
come  into  the  land  of  strange  light.  The  waters  are  blue  as  the 
sky ;  they  sparkle  and  glitter  in  the  light.  They  are  sweet,  and 
the  deer  delights  to  drink  them  as  they  tumble  among  the  stones. 
The  rivers  run  towards  the  South.  At  the  foot  of  the  tall  rock  the 
great  stream  rolls.  The  swaying  bushes  are  thick  upon  its  shores. 
They  bend  to  the  breezes  of  that  land.  Trees  are  where  I  stand, 
upon  a  crag  which  rises  from  the  flat  mountain-top.  The  river  is 
under  my  feet.  A  warrior  comes  to  me.  He  says: 

"There  is  one  more  trial  of  your  courage.  Look  beyond  the 
river.  There  lies  the  land  of  the  Little  People." 

Then  I  looked.  There  was  the  bright  sunshine  on  the  groves 
and  fields.  The  land  rose  in  swells.  It  rolled  in  gentle  hills. 
Great  beams  of  light  shone  more  strongly  at  some  points.  The 
hills  were  beautiful.  The  Little  People  were  there.  And  a  great 
host  stood  upon  the  mountains.  They  were  the  Wyandots  of  old. 
Then  did  my  courage  burn  strong  within  me.  Then  did  I  say  — . 
— [Fragment  of  an  old  Wyandot  song. 


PREFATORY    NOTES 


The  folk-lore  of  the  Wyandots  should  be  peculiarly 
interesting  to  Kansas  students.  It  will  be  conceded,  I 
believe,  that  the  emigrant  tribes  were  in  every  way  supe 
rior  to  the  native  tribes  of  Kansas  Indians.  The  Wy 
andots  were  the  recognized  head  of  the  emigrant  tribes. 
And  this  superiority  had  been  accorded  them  by  the  emi 
grant  tribes  themselves.  It  was  of  ancient  date  and  long 
standing.  As  early  as  1750  the  Northwestern  Confeder 
acy  was  formed,  and  the  Wyandots  were  made  the  keepers 
of  the  council-fire  thereof.  In  1848  this  Confederacy  was 
renewed  in  Kansas  at  a  great  council  held  near  Fort 
Leavenworth,  and  the  Wyandots  confirmed  in  their  an 
cient  and  honorable  position. 

As  a  tribe  the  Wyandots  favored  the  organization  of 
Nebraska  (Kansas)  Territory.  Indeed,  they  made  the 
first  effective  efforts  in  this  direction.  They  established 
a  Provisional  government  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas 
river,  in  1853.  The  first  man  to  bear  the  title  of  Gov 
ernor  of  Nebraska  (Kansas)  was  William  Walker,  a 
Wyandot  Indian,  a  gentleman  of  education,  refinement, 
and  great  strength  of  character.  The  metropolis  of  the 

(7) 


PREFATORY 

State  is  but  the  development  of  a  Wyandot  village  into  a 
great  modern  city. 

Twenty  years  ago,  seeing  that  no  collection  of  the  folk 
lore  of  this  interesting  people  had  ever  been  attempted, 
I  began  to  gather  and  record  such  of  it  as  I  could  find. 
Most  of  it  had  then  been  lost  by  the  tribe.  This  will  not 
seem  strange  when  it  is  known  that  Wyandots  were  even 
at  that  time  of  more  than  one-half  white  blood.  There  is 
not  so  much  as  a  half-blood  Wyandot  now  living.  The  last 
full-blood  Wyandot  died  in  Canada  about  1820.  I  began 
the  work  at  a  most  fortunate  time.  There  were  then 
living  many  very  old  Wyandots  who  remembered  much 
of  their  tribal  history  and  folk-lore.  These  are  now  dead, 
with  but  a  single  exception.  The  generation  now  living 
could  furnish  no  folk-lore  of  value.  Few  of  them  speak 
their  language.  Not  half  a  dozen  of  them  can  speak  the 
pure  Wyandot.  Their  reservation  near  Seneca,  Missouri, 
in  the  Indian  Territory,  is  not  different  from  the  well- 
tilled  portions  of  our  country.  They  are  good  farmers, 
and  have  schools  and  churches.  Stih-yeh'-stah,  or  Cap 
tain  Bull-Head,  was  the  last  pagan  Wyandot;  he  died  in 
Wyandotte  county,  Kansas,  about  the  year  1860. 


In  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore  for  June,  1899, 
I  published  a  paper  on  the  "  Folk-Lore  of  the  Wyandots." 
The  following  explanatory  note  of  my  work  will  be  found 
on  page  125 ;  it  tells  how  I  came  to  begin  this  work: 

"The  writer  of  this  paper,  author  of  the  Provisional  Government 
of  Nebraska  Territory,  member  of  the  Nebraska  State  Historical 


PEEFATOKY  9 

Society,  and  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  American  Ethnology, 
Western  Historical  Society,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  is  an  adopted  Wy- 
andot  of  the  Deer  Clan,  raised  up  to  fill  the  position  of  Sahr'-stahr- 
rah'-tseh,  the  famous  chief  of  the  Wyandots  known  to  history  as 
the  Half-King.  The  latter  was  chief  during  the  war  of  the  Revo 
lution,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Northwestern  Confederacy 
of  Indians,,  that  opposed  so  long  the  settlement  of  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  river.  The  Wyandots  stood  at  the  head  of 
this  confederacy,  and  were  the  keepers  of  the  Council  Fire  thereof. 
"  The  writer,  who  has  also  received  the  Wyandot  name  of  Dehx- 
hehn-yahn'-teh,  The  Rainbow,  has  had  frequent  occasion  to  trans 
act  business  for  this  people,  and  in  the  course  of  such  duty  has 
become  interested  in  their  language,  history,  manners,  customs, 
and  religious  beliefs.  He  has  also  written  an  account  of  the  clan 
system  and  other  features  of  the  tribal  society.  He  has  prepared 
an  extensive  vocabulary  of  the  language,  not  yet  published,  and 
made  a  collection  of  the  songs  which  by  missionaries  and  others 
have  been  rendered  into  the  Wyandot  tongue.  At  the  present 
time  the  opportunity  for  such  studies  has  passed  away,  inasmuch 
as  the  old  Wyandots  from  whom  this  information  was  received, 
with  one  exception,  have  died,  and  the  present  generation  is  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  ancient  beliefs.  No  folk-lore  could  be  obtained 
from  any  Wyandot  now  living,  and  few  can  speak  the  language." 


Only  a  brief  outline  of  the  folk-lore  of  the  Wyandots 
can  be  presented  in  a  work  of  this  kind.  And  what  is 
given  is  necessarily  divested  of  much  of  its  force  and 
beauty  because  of  the  omission  of  all  Wyandot  language 
hi  expressing  Wyandot  terms.  Nothing  in  this  field  has 
been  published  before,  and  the  writer  has  been  encouraged 
by  students  in  all  parts  of  the  country  to  publish  the 
results  of  his  labors  in  the  interest  of  science.  He  has  a 
very  extensive  Vocabulary  of  the  Wyandot  language,  the 
only  one  ever  prepared.  It  is  his  intention  to  publish  this 
and  the  complete  work  on  the  folk-lore  of  the  tribe. 


10  PREFATORY 

The  folk-lore  of  the  Wyandots  contains  many  beautiful 
things.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  teachers  will  come  to 
see  the  beauties  of  all  American  folk-lore,  and  give  it 
that  attention  which  it  deserves  from  American  students. 
It  is  practically  an  unexplored  field.  Treasures  lie  hidden 
in  it.  Who  will  lend  a  hand  to  dig  them  out? 

WM.  E.  C. 

TOPEKA,  KANSAS,  November  11,  1899. 


HISTORICAL     REVIEW 


GENERAL    REMARKS 

But  all  the  story  of  the  night  told  over, 
And  all  their  minds  transfigur'd  so  together, 
More  witnesseth  than  fancy's  images, 
And  grows  to  something  of  great  constancy, 
But,  howsoever,  strange  and  admirable. 

— A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream. 

The  term  "  folk-lore "  is  broad  in  its  significance ;  it 
embraces  much.  The  traditional  customs  and  beliefs  of 
a  people  are  a  part  of  their  folk-lore.  This  may  apply  to 
those  believed  in  or  practiced  in  the  present ;  it  has  special 
application  to  those  of  a  past  age.  Traditions  handed 
down  from  father  to  son  are  a  part  of  the  folk-lore  of  a 
people.  Where  isolation  or  ignorance  gives  rise  to  super 
stitious  tales  and  beliefs,  we  include  these  in  the  folk-lore 
of  that  people.  It  does  not  always  follow  that  a  custom 
or  a  saying  must  be  of  a  long-gone  age,  to  become  a  part 
of  our  folk-lore.  The  folk-lore  of  our  own  times  is  en 
riched  by  many  of  the  quaint  and  homely  sayings  of 
Franklin.  Beliefs  and  superstitions  of  ages  long  gone  by, 
or  so  remote  in  origin  that  they  are  attributed  to  a  divine 
origin,  belong  to  folk-lore.  We  now  make  this  term  in 
clude  what  is  properly  mythology.  Of  the  two  terms, 
"  folk-lore "  and  "  mythology,"  folk-lore  is  by  far  the 

(ID 


12  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

most  comprehensive  in  its  modern  acceptation.  It  follows 
that  a  belief  need  not  embrace  a  truth  to  become  folk-lore. 
Most  folk-lore  is  made  up  of  scientific  absurdities.  All 
mythology  consists  of  ancient  beliefs  now  demonstrated  to 
be  incorrect  and  erroneous. 

This  last  proposition  being  true,  .where  is  the  profit 
in  the  study  of  the  folk-lore  and  mythology  of  a  people? 
The  answer  and  reason  lie  in  the  fact  that  the  folk-lore 
is  the  record  of  the  progress  of  a  people.  Their  ancient 
beliefs  lie  embodied  in  it.  If  we  can  find  out  what  a 
people  have  believed  in  a  bygone  age,  we  can  from  that 
determine  the  condition  of  such  people  in  that  age.  All 
development,  animate  and  inanimate,  has  been  the  same. 
We  examine  the  rocks  of  a  certain  age  of  the  earth,  and 
ascertain  precisely  the  conditions  of  the  earth  at  that  time. 
For  only  certain  well-known,  well-defined,  and  scientific 
ally  demonstrated  physical  conditions  can  produce  such 
results  as  we  find  existing  in  such  age.  Folk-lore  might 
well  be  denominated  the  geology  of  the  progress  of  the 
human  mind.  For  certain  degrees  of  development  of  the 
human  mind  produce  certain  thoughts  and  actions  which 
are  impossible  to  any  other  degree  of  its  advancement. 
Folk-lore  thus  become  in  a  sense  the  record  of  human 
progress,  but  more  particularly  the  record  of  the  develop 
ment  of  the  mind  from  savagery  to  civilization.  As  an 
instance  simple  and  easily  comprehended,  we  cite  the 
homely  adage,  "A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the 
bush."  Only  a  people  of  a  practical  turn  could  have 
originated  it.  But  how  many  centuries  passed  with  the 
principle  recognized  but  without  any  concise  expression 
of  it!  This  is  the  simplest  form  in  which  this  truth  can 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  13 

be  expressed;  the  whole  subject  is  crystallized,  and  its 
form  becomes  a  proverb.  No  further  progress  in  simpli 
fication  can  be  made ;  the  coinage  of  this  adage  marks  the 
close  of  progress  in  this  particular  instance.  So  it  is  in  all 
the  processes  of  mental  development,  both  great  and  small, 
in  all  matters,  in  all  times,  and  in  all  directions. 

Then  the  emotions  of  a  people  during  its  ages  of 
progress  from  savagery  to  civilization  are  imbedded  in  its 
folk-lore.  So,  also,  of  the  cruelty,  tenderness,  and  all 
other  traits,  properties,  or  qualities  of  the  mind.  This  is 
distinctly  discernible  in  the  comparison  of  the  folk-lore 
of  one  people  with  that  of  another — for  a  contrast,  that 
of  the  Irish  with  that  of  the  Corsican;  the  German  with 
the  Arabian,  etc.  The  chief  value  of  folk-lore,  though, 
is  in  its  demonstration  of  the  principle  that  all  human 
progress  has  been  along  certain  lines  which  by  it  are 
proved  to  be  inherent  in  and  common  to  the  mind  of  man. 
And,  further,  that  all  development,  of  mind  and  matter, 
men  and  worlds,  peoples  and  planetary  systems,  is  along 
one  line  here  plainly  marked  for  us  by  the  hand  of  the 
Infinite. 

American  folk-lore  is  the  result  of  the  foregoing  prin 
ciples  applied  to  the  Indians,  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  our  country.  For  the  white  race  in  America  have  not 
become  a  people  with  a  distinct  folk-lore.  We  are  yet  de 
veloping  the  Gaelic,  Saxon,  German  and  other  folk-lores. 
So  the  term  "American  folk-lore  "  as  yet  applies  only  to 
that  of  the  aborigines. 

We  find  in  the.  North- American  Indians  many  distinct 
families  and  all  degrees  of  mental  strength.  The  folk 
lore  preserved  indicates  that  this  has  always  been  true. 


14  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

Where  we  find  the  figures  bold,  clear,  well  defined,  stamped 
with  strong  characteristics,  we  say  that  the  people  origi 
nating  it  were  brave,  hardy,  mentally  strong,  and  possessed 
of  well-defined  objects,  aims  and  tendencies  which  they 
were  consciously  or  unconsciously  developing.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  find  a  tribal  folk-lore  confused,  with  no 
well-defined  characters  or  figures,  but  with  only  dim  and 
indistinct  outlines,  we  say  at  once  that  the  people  produc 
ing  it  were  low  mentally,  of  an  inferior  type,  possessing 
no  vigor  of  mind.  The  folk-lore  of  the  Iroquoian  family 
of  Indians  is  one  of  the  strongest,  boldest,  most  striking 
found  in  America.  And  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  of 
the  Wyandots  is  the  foremost  in  these  features  found  in 
the  folk-lores  of  the  Iroquoian  family.  In  boldness,  orig 
inality,  clearness  of  perception  and  strength  of  conception 
the  folk-lore  of  the  Wyandots  surpasses  that  of  any  other 
tribe  with  which  I  am  familiar. 

We  repeat,  that  in  all  the  lands  of  the  earth  man  has 
advanced  from  savagery  towards  civilization  along  the 
same  general  lines.  The  bone  awl,  the  thread  of  sinew, 
the  skin  garment,  the  shell  ornament,  the  stone  imple 
ment,  the  bow  and  the  arrow,  are  not  peculiar  to  the  peo 
ple  of  the  New  World.  And  this  fact  makes  the  study  of 
primitive  man  as  found  in  the  forests  of  North  America 
one  of  supreme  importance — of  intense  interest.  For  here 
we  may  see  ways  similar  in  many  respects  to  those  which 
the  Semite,  the  Egyptian,  the  Greek,  the  Celt,  the  Teuton 
trod  in  their  ever  restless,  irresistible,  often  unconscious 
and  unconsenting  advancement  to  something  higher  and 
better. 

In  the  following  pages  I  have  endeavored  to  set  out 


WYANDOT    FOLKXLOKE 

truthfully  the  degree  of  mental  attainment,  the  condition 
and  character  of  the  social,  political  and  religious  institu 
tions  of  the  ancient  Wyandots  as  evidenced  by  the  frag 
ments  of  their  legendary  lore  that  have  come  down  to  us. 
Let  us  look  at  this  people  in  the  pagan  days  when  they 
had  not  seen  the  white  man.  Let  us  go  back  four  hundred 
years  and  enter  the  thick  woods  of  Canada  and  New 
York.  Let  us  look  once  again  upon  the  broad,  majestic 
rivers,  the  clear  streams,  the  boiling  rapids,  the  foaming 
cataracts,  the  crystal  lakes,  all  before  the  paleface  had 
denied  them  with  his  blighting  touch.  Let  us  gaze  upon 
the  forests,  broad,  dense,  gloomy.  We  shall  hear  the 
winter  storm  roaring  through  the  branches  of  the  great 
trees  and  see  the  North  Wind  rend  and  break  them  in  his 
wrath.  We  shall  see  the  thick  blanket  of  snow  spread 
down  over  the  world  by  Winter.  And  when  spring  comes 
we  shall  see  this  scene  change  within  a  month.  The  snows 
melt,  the  ice  disappears,  the  North  Wind  returns  to  his 
lair.  Leaves  spring  from  every  bough ;  ducks,  geese, 
swans,  gulls,  pelicans  and  other  water-fowl  swim,  soar, 
wade  and  scream.  The  silver  side  of  the  trout  flashes  as 
he  leaps  above  the  waters  now  released  from  their  icy 
fetters.  The  wolf  prowls,  and  the  panther  screams  to  his 
fellows.  The  heavy  bear  lumbers  clumsily  through  the 
woods  and  startles  the  light  and  graceful  deer.  Insects 
hum  and  whiz  and  drone.  Spring  melts  into  the  full  and 
fruitful  summer.  The  oak,  the  hickory,  the  hazel,  the 
beech,  the  walnut,  the  wild  vine,  weight  their  branches, 
with  fruit  to  be  ripened  by  the  mellow  rays  of  the  hazy 
sun  of  the  voluptuous  autumn. 

And  what  of  man?     He  is  here.     See  that  village  by 


16  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

the  sparkling  lake  where  the  blue  hills  descend  gently  to 
the  pebbly  beach.  And  another,  and  still  another  beyond. 
Strange  people  dwell  there.  They  have  seen  no  man  dif 
ferent  from  themselves.  Of  our  arts,  our  civilization,  our 
religion,  they  know  nothing.  Whatever  they  have  of  these 
they  have  made  for  themselves.  And  we  shall  find  that  they 
xhave  an  expressive  and  strong  language,  strange  religious 
beliefs  and  complex  social  systems  and  political  institu 
tions.  They  cultivate  the  corn  plant,  and  have  domesticafe-1 
a  species  of  dog.  They  have  become  proficient  in  the  culti 
vation  and  curing  of  tobacco,  and  in  the  barter  of  it  to 
surrounding  tribes  that  have  come  to  depend  upon  them 
for  this  Indian  luxury  and  blessing.  They  long  since 
began  to  take  note  of  things  about  them.  They  have 
sought  to  account  for  all  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens 
and  the  earth. 

Their  conclusions  were  fixed  by  the  light  they  had  been 
able  to  attain,  and  are  ridiculous  when  seen  in  the  light 
we  now  stand  in  to  view  them,  but  not  more  so  than  those 
of  the  Chinese,  the  Greeks,  the  Celts,  the  East  Indians, 
the  Babylonians,  the  Assyrians,  the  Egyptians,  and  the 
ancient  Teutons.  And  while  they  are  absurd  when  meas 
ured  and  weighed  by  modern  science  and  civilized  learn 
ing,  they  are  beautiful  in  conception,  and  they  reveal  a 
mentality  of  strength  and  persistency. 


NOTES    ON   THE    HISTORY   OF   THE 
WYANDOTS 


I.— NAME. 

Lalemant  says  the  original  and  true  name  of  the  Wyan- 

(lotS  is   OUENDAT. 

In  history  the  Wyandots  have  been  spoken  of  by  the 
following  names : 

1.  Tionnontates, 

2.  Etionontates, 

3.  Tuinontatek, 

4.  Dionondadies, 

5.  Khionontaterrhonons, 

6.  Petnneux  or  Nation  du  Petun  (Tobacco). 

They  call  themselves 

1.  Wehn'-duht,  or 

2.  Wehn'-dooht. 

They  never  accepted  the  name  Huron,  which  is  of 
French  origin.  It  is  not  certain  that  they  were  entitled 
to  the  name  Huron.  They  make  no  such  claim  them 
selves. 

The  Wyandota  have  been  always  considered  the  rem 
nant  of  the  Hurons.  That  they  were  related  to  the  people 
called  Hurons  by  the  French,  there  is  no  doubt,  and  upon 
this  point  there  is  no  dispute  and  can  be  no  question. 
After  having  studied  them  carefully  for  almost  twenty 
-2 


18 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


years,  I  am  of  ihe  opinion  that  the  Wyandots  aro  more 
I'lnsrly  related  to  the  Senecas  than  they  were  to  the 
ancient  Hurons. 

Both  myth  and  tradition  of  the  Wyandots  say  they 
were  "  created  "  in  the  region  between  St.  James's  Bay 
and  the  "oast  of  Labrador.  All  their  traditions  describe 
their  ancient  home  as  north  of  the  month  of  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

In  their  traditions  of  their  migrations  southward  they 
say  they  came  to  the  island  where  Montreal  now  stands. 
They  took  possession  of  the  country  along  the  north  bank 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  from  the  Ottawa  river  to  a  large 
lake  and  river  far  below  Quebec.  The  lower  or  eastern 
boundary  cannot  now  be  definitely  fixed.  It  was  bounded 
by  this  large  river,  they  say. 

This  country  they  called  by  a  name  which  means,  in 
their  language^  "  the  rivers  rushing  by,"  or  "  the  country 
of  rushing  waters."  They  claim  that  while  they  resided 
there  they  numbered  many  thousands,  and  that  they  were 
the  dominant  power  in  all  that  country. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence  lived  the  Senecas, 
so  the  Wyandot  traditions  recite.  The  Senecas  claimed 
the  island  upon  which  the  city  of  Montreal  is  built.  The 
Senecas  and  Wyandots  have  always  claimed  a  cousin  re 
lation  with  each  other.  They  say  that  they  have  been 
neighbors  from  time  immemorial.  Their  languages  are 
almost  the  same,  each  being  the  dialect  of  an  older  common 
mother-tongue.  They  are  as  nearly  alike  as  are  the  Sen 
eca  and  Mohawk  dialects.  The  two  tribes  live  side  by 
side  at  this  time,  and  each  can  speak  the  tongue  of  the 
other  as  well  as  it  speaks  its  own. 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


The  Wyandots  say  that  the  Delawares  lived  to  the  east 
of  them,  on  the  lower  St.  Lawrence,  and  on  its  north  bank. 
They  were  on  friendly  terms,  perhaps  in  friendly  alli 
ance.  This  part  of  the  tradition  I  regard  as  possible,  and 
indeed  probable,  and  proved  by  the  clans  or  totems  of  the 
Delawares,  for  with  them  the  Turtle  Clan  is  considered 
the  oldest  and  of  most  importance.  The  Delawares  are 
said  to  be  the  oldest  of  Algonquin  tribes,  and  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  they  obtained  their  ideas  of  the  impor 
tance  of  the  Turtle  from,  the  Iroquoian  peoples. 

To  the  west  of  the  Wyandot  country  lived  the  Ottawas, 
so  the  Wyandot  traditions  claim. 

When  the  Wyandots  came  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
how  long  they  remained  there,  cannot  now  be  determined. 
Their  traditions  say  that  they  were  among  those  that  met 
Cartier  at  Hochelaga  in  1535.  According  to  their  tradi 
tions,  Hochelaga  was  a  Seneca  town. 

It  has  been  the  opinion  of  writers  upon  the  subject  that 
the  Wyandots  migrated  from  the  St.  Lawrence  directly 
to  the  point  where  they  were  found  by  the  French.  What 
ever  the  fact  may  be,  their  traditions  tell  a  different 
story.  They  claim  to  have  become  involved  in  a  deadly 
war  with  the  Senecas  because  of  murders  committed  by  a 
Wyandot  at  the  instigation  of  a  Seneca  woman. 

Hale  makes  Peter  D.  Clarke  say  that  the  Wyandots  fled 
to  the  northwest  to  escape  the  consequences  of  this  war 
with  the  Senecas.  That  they  fled  for  this  purpose  is 
true,  but  neither  Clarke  nor  Wyandot  tradition  says  that 
they  fled  to  the  northwest.  Their  route  was  up  the  St. 
Lawrence,  which  they  crossed,  and  along  the  south  shore 
of  Lake  Ontario.  They  held  this  course  until  they  arrived 


20  TWENTIETH    CENTUBY    CLASSICS 

at  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  where  they  settled  and  remained 
for  some  years.  They  called  this  point  in  their  wander 
ings  by  their  name  for  waterfalls.  This  Wyandot  word 
means  "  the  stream  falls  into  itself/'  or  "  tumbles  down 
to  its  new  level  from  the  rock  above."  Louisville,  Ken 
tucky,  was  so  called  by  them  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio. 

The  Wyandots  removed  from  the  Falls  of  Niagara, 
the  site  now  occupied  by  Toronto,  Canada.  Their  removal 
from  Niagara  was  in  consequence  of  the  Iroquois  coming 
into  their  historic  seat  in  what  is  now  New  York.  This 
settlement  they  called  by  their  word  which  means 
"  plenty/''  or  "  a  land  of  plenty."  They  named  it  so  be 
cause  of  the  abundance  of  game  and  fish  they  found,  and 
of  the  abundance  of  corn,  beans,  squashes  and  tobacco 
they  raised.  The  present  name  of  that  city  is  only  a 
slight  change  of  the  old  Wyandot  name,  which  was  pro 
nounced  "  To-run-to." 

As  the  Senecas  pushed  farther  westward,  the  Wyandots 
became  uneasy,  and  finally  abandoned  their  country  at 
Toronto  and  migrated  northward.  Here  they  came  in 
contact  with  the  Hurons,  who  tried  to  expel  them,  but 
were  unable  to  do  so.  The  French  found  them  in  alliance 
with  the  Hurons,  but  record  that  they  had  but  recently 
been  at  war  with  that  people.  When  the  Jesuits  went 
among  the  Hurons  the  Wyandots  were  a  part  of  the  Huron 
Confederacy.  Their  history  from  this  point  is  well  known. 

If  it  turns  out  that  there  is  any  reliance  to  be  placed 
in  the  traditions  of  the  Wyandots,  they  were  found  in  their 
historic  seat  about  one  hundred  and  five  years  from  the 
time  they  were  first  seen  by  the  French  at  Montreal  in 
1535.  Their  migration  from  the  St.  Lawrence,  by  way 


WYATOOT    FOLK-LORE 

of  the  Niagara  Falls  and  Toronto  to  the  Blue  Mountains 
on  the  shores  of  the  Nottawassaga  Bay,  occurred  after 
the  French  first  came  to  Canada. 

The  Wyandots  were  involved  in  the  general  ruin 
wrought  by  the  Iroquois.  I  subjoin  a  short  account  by 
Parkman  of  the  wanderings  of  the  Wyandots  after  the 
destruction1  of  the  Hurons  by  the  Five  Nations.  It  is 
taken  from  "  The  Jesuits  in  North  America,"  which 
should  be  read  by  every  one  desiring  a  knowledge  of  the 
Wyandots  at  all  full  or  complete : 

"  In  the  woody  valleys  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  south  of 
the  Nottawassaga  Bay  of  Lake  Huron,  and  two  days' 
journey  west  of  the  frontier  Huron  towns,  lay  the  nine 
villages  of  the  Tobacco  Nation,  or  Tionnontates.  In 
manners  as  in  language,  they  closely  resembled  the  Hurons. 
Of  old  they  were  their  enemies,  but  were  now  at  peace 
with  them,  and  about  the  year  1640  became  their  close 
confederates.  Indeed,  in  the  ruin  which  befell  that  hap 
less  people,  the  Tionnontates  alone  retained  a  tribal  or 
ganization;  and  their  descendants,  with  a  trifling  excep 
tion,  are  to  this  day  the  sole  inheritors  of  the  Huron  01 
Wyandot  name.  Expatriated  and  wandering,  they  held 
for  generations  a  paramount  influence  among  the  West 
ern  tribes.  In  their  original  seats  among  the  Blue  Moun 
tains,  they  offered  an  example  extremely  rare  among 
Indians,  of  a  tribe  raising  a  crop  for  the  market;  for  they 
traded  in  tobacco  largely  with  other  tribes.  Their  Huron 
confederates,  keen  traders,  would  not  suffer  them  to  pass 
through  their  country  to  traffic  with  the  French,  preferring 


22  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

to  secure  for  themselves  the  advantage  of  bartering  with 
them  in  French  goods  at  an  enormous  profit. 

"  The  division  of  the  Hurons  called  the  Tohacco  Na 
tion,  favored  by  their  isolated  position  among  the  moun 
tains,  held  their  ground  longer  than  the  rest ;  but  at  length 
they,  too,  were  compelled  to  fly,  together  with  such  other 
Hurons  as  had  taken  refuge  with  them.  They  made  their 
way  northward,  and  settled  on  the  Island  of  Michili- 
mackinac,  where  they  were  joined  by  the  Ottawas,  who 
with  other  Algonquins  had  been  driven  by  fear  of  the 
Iroquois  from  the  western  shores  of  Lake  Huron  and  the 
banks  of  the  River  Ottawa.  At  Michilimackinac  the 
Hurons  and  their  allies  were  again  attacked  by  the  Iro 
quois,  and,  after  remaining  several  years,  they  made  an 
other  move,  and  took  possession  of  the  islands  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Green  Bay  of  Lake  Michigan.  Even  here 
their  old  enemy  did  not  leave  them  in  peace;  whereupon 
they  fortified  themselves  on  the  mainland,  and  afterwards 
migrated  southward  and  westward.  This  brought  them 
in  contact  with  the  Illinois,  an  Algonquin  people,  at  that 
time  very  numerous,  but  who,  like  many  other  tribes  at 
this  epoch,  were  doomed  to  a  rapid  diminution  from  wars 
with  other  savage  nations.  Continuing  their  migration 
westward,  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas  reached  the  Missis 
sippi,  where  they  fell  in  with  the  Sioux.  They  soon 
quarreled  with  those  fierce  children  of  the  prairie,  who 
drove  them  from  their  country.  They  retreated  to  the 
southwestern  extremity  of  Lake  Superior,  and  settled  on 
Point  Saint  Esprit,  or  Shagwamigon  Point,  near  the  Isl 
ands  of  the  Twelve  Apostles.  As  the  Sioux  continued  to 
harass  them,  they  left  this  place  about  the  year  1671,  and 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOBE  23 

returned  to  Michilimackinac,  where  they  settled,  not  on 
the  island,  but  on  the  neighboring  point,  St.  Ignace,  now 
Graham's  Point,  on  the  north  side  of  the  strait.  The 
greater  part  of  them  afterwards  removed  thence  to  De 
troit  and  Sandusky,  where  they  lived  under  the  name  of 
Wyandots  until  the  present  century,  maintaining  a  marked 
influence  over  the  surrounding  Algonquins.  They  bore 
an  active  part,  on  the  side  of  the  French,  in  the  war  which 
ended  in  the  reduction  of  Canada;  and  they  were  the 
most  formidable  enemies  of  the  English  in  the  Indian 
war  under  Pontiac.  The  government  of  the  United 
States  at  length  removed  them  to  reserves  on  the  Western 
frontier,  where  a  remnant  of  them  may  still  be  found. 
Thus  it  appears  that  the  Wyandots,  whose  name  is  so  con 
spicuous  in  the  history  of  our  border  wars,  are  descendants 
of  the  ancient  Hurons,  and  chiefly  of  that  portion  of  them 
called  the  Tobacco  Nation." 

The  Wyandots  came  to  what  is  now  Wyandotte  county, 
Kansas,  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1843,  from  Wyandot 
county,  Ohio.  They  had  been  promised  148,000  acres 
of  land  in  Kansas,  but  so  large  a  body  could  not  then  be 
found  unclaimed.  They  turned  to  their  old  friends,  their 
nephews,  the  Delawares,  who  had  been  removed  West  some 
years  before  and  given  a  large  reservation  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Kansas  river,  the  eastern  boundary  of  which 
was  the  Missouri  river.  The  Delawares  sold  them  the  land 
in  the  fork  of  the  Missouri  and  Kansas  rivers.  Their 
reservation  consisted  of  thirty-nine  sections  of  land,  for 
which  they  paid  the  Delawares  $48,000.  This  land  is 
all  in  Wyandotte  county. 


24:  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

Most  of  the  Wyandots  were  civilized  when  they  arrived 
in  Kansas.  But  there  were  pagans  among  them  to  the 
number  of  about  one  hundred.  They  brought  with  them 
a  Methodist  Church  fully  organized,  to  which  some  two 
hundred  and  fifty  of  them  belonged.  This  was  the  old 
mission  founded  at  Upper  Sandusky  by  John  Stewart 
and  James  B.  Finley,  and  was  the  first  mission  ever  es 
tablished  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  is  now 
the  Washington  Avenue  M.  E.  Church,  in  Kansas  City, 
Kansas. 

In  1855  the  Wyandots  made  a  treaty  in  which  they 
dissolved  their  tribal  relations  and  received  their  land  in 
severalty,  and  became  citizens  of  the  United  States.  In 
1867  the  Government  allowed  such  of  them  as  desired 
to  do  so  to  resume  their  tribal  relations,  and  purchased 
them  a  reservation  of  twenty  thousand  acres  from  the 
Senecas,  in  the  Indian  Territory.  This  reservation  i& 
near  Seneca,  Mo.,  and  the  Wyandot  tribe  live  on  it  at 
the  present  time.  This  land  is  allotted  to  them,  and  is 
in  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  they  being  good  farmers, 
and  an  industrious  and  orderly  people.  They  maintain 
schools  for  their  children,  and  many  of  them  are  members 
of  the  churches  of  the  Methodist  and  Quaker  denomina 
tions.  They  have  good  dwellings;  and  much  stock,  con 
sisting  of  hogs,  cattle  and  horses,  is  raised  and  sold.  The 
thriving  little  town  of  Wyandotte,  on  the  Frisco  railroad, 
is  the  metropolis  of  their  country.  It  is  situated  in  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  valleys  in  the  Indian  Territory. 

The  Wyandots  are  now  more  white  than  Indian.  They 
are  a  generous  and  hospitable  people,  and  very  kind  and 
obliging  to  strangers. 


WYAtfDOT    FOLK-LORE 


25 


II.— WYAOT3OT   GOVEKNMENT. 

The  government  of  the  ancient  Wyandots  was,  in  its 
highest  functions,  a  pure  democracy.  While  it  rested  upon 
the  system  of  clans1  for  the  execution  of  its  details, 
anything  affecting  the  interests  of  the  whole  people  was 
decided  in  a  mass  convention  convened  according  to  well- 
defined  custom  or  law.  In  this  convention  women  had  as 
much  voice  as  the  men. 

The  trihe  was  anciently  divided  into  twelve  clans,  or 
gentes.  Each  of  these  had  a  local  government,  consist 
ing  of  a  clan  counsel  presided  over  by  a  clan  chief.  These 
clan  counsels  were  composed  of  at  least  five  persons,  one 
man  and  four  women,  and  they  might  contain  any  number 
of  women  above  four.  Any  business  pertaining  purely  to 
the  internal  affairs  of  the  clans  was  carried  to  the  clan 
councils  for  settlement.  An  appeal  was  allowed  from  the 
clan  council  to  the  tribal  council.  The  four  women  of  the 
clan  council  regulated  the  clan  affairs  and  selected  the 
clan  chief.  The  oifice  of  clan  chief  was  in  a  measure 
hereditary,  although  not  wholly  so.  The  tribal  council 
was  composed  of  the  clan  chiefs,  the  hereditary  sachem, 
and  such  other  men  of  the  tribe  of  renown  as  the  sachem 
might  with  the  consent  of  the  tribal  council  call  to  the 
council-fire.  In  determining  a  question  the  vote  w^s  by 
clans,  and  not  by  individuals.  In  matters  of  great  im 
portance  it  required  a  unanimous  vote  to  carry  a  propo 
sition. 

'Gens  is  a  better  word— the  proper  word.  But  the  Wyandots  say  clan  or  tribe 
when  speaking  of  this  tribal  subdivision. 


26 


TWENTIETH    OENTTTRY 


The  names  of  tlio  ancient  clans  of  the  Wyandot  tribe 
arc  as  follows: 

1.  Big  Turtle. 

2.  Little  Turtle. 

3.  Mud  Turtle. 

4.  Wolf. 

5.  Bear. 

6.  Beaver. 

7.  Deer. 

8.  Porcupine. 

0.  Striped  Turtle. 

10.  Highland  Turtle,  or  Prairie  Turtle. 

11.  Snake. 

12.  Hawk. 

These  clan  names  are  all  expressed  in  Wyandot  words 
so  long  and  hard  to  properly  pronounce  that  they  are 
omitted  here.  They  are  written  in  what  the  Wyandots 
call  the  Order  of  Precedence  and  Encampment,  as  T 
have  recorded  them  above.  On  the  march  the  warriors 
of  the  Big  Turtle  Clan  marched  in  front,  those  of  the 
Little  Turtle  Clan  marched  next  to  them,  and  so  on  down 
to  the  last  clan,  except  the  Wolf  Clan,  which  had  command 
of  the  inarch  and  might  be  where  its  presence  was.  most 
necessary.  The  tribal  encampment  was  formed  "  on  the 
shell  of  the  Big  Turtle,"  as  the  old  Wyandots  said.  This 
meajus  that  the  tents  were  arranged  in  a  circular  form  as 
though  surrounding  the  shell  of  the  Big  Turtle.  The  Big 
Turtle  Clan  was  placed  where  the  right  fore-leg  of  the 
turtle  was  supposed  to  be  and  the  other  clans  were  arranged 
around  in  their  proper  order,  except  the  Wolf  Clan,  which 


WYAttDOT    FOLK-LORE  27 

could  be  in  the  center  of  the  inclosure  on  the  turtle's 
back,  or  in  front  of  it  where  the  turtle's  head  was  sup 
posed  to  be,  as  it  was  thought  best.  In  ancient  times  all 
their  villages  were  built  in  this  order,  and  in  the  tribal 
council  the  clans  took  this  order  in  seating  themselves, 
with  the  sachem  either  in  the  center  or  in  the  front  of  the 
circle,  and  the  chief  of  the  Wolf  Clan  attending  at  the 
door  of  the  council  chamber. 

These  clans  were  separated  into  two  divisions,  called 
phratries.  The  first  phratry  consisted  of  the  following 
tribes : 

1.  Bear. 

2.  Deer. 

3.  Snake. 

4.  Hawk. 

The  second  phratry  consisted  of  the  following  tribes: 

1.  Big  Turtle. 

2.  Little  Turtle. 

3.  Mud  Turtle. 

4.  Beaver. 

5.  Porcupine. 

6.  Striped  Turtle. 

7.  Highland  Turtle,  or  Prairie  Turtle. 

The  Mediator,  Executive  Power,  and  Umpire  of  the 
tribe  was  the  Wolf  Clan,  which  stood  between  the  phra 
tries,  and  bore  a  cousin  relation  to  each. 

All  the  clans  of  a  phratry  bore  the  relation  of  brothers 
to  one  another,  and  the  clans  of  one  phratry  bore  the  rela 
tion  of  cousins  to  those  of  the  other  phratry. 

Their  marriage  laws  were  fixed  by  this  relationship. 


*o  TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 

Anciently  a  man  of  the  first  phratry  was  compelled  to 
marry  a  woman  of  the  second  phratry,  and  vice  versa. 
This  was  because  every  man  of  a  phratry  was  supposed  to 
be  the  brother  of  every  other  man  in  it,  and  every  woman 
in  the  phratry  was  supposed  to  be  his  sister.  The  law  of 
marriage  is  now  so  modified  that  it  applies  only  to  the 
clans,  a  man  of  the  Deer  Clan  being  permitted  to  marry 
a  woman  of  Bear,  Snake,  Hawk,  or  any  other  clan  but  his 
own.  Indeed,  even  this  modification  has  now  almost  dis 
appeared.  If  a  man  of  the  Deer  Clan  married  a  woman 
of  the  Porcupine  Clan,  all  his  children  were  of  the  Porcu 
pine  Clan,  for  the  gens  always  follows  the  woman  and 
never  the  man.  The  descent  and  distribution  of  property 
followed  the  same  law;  the  son  could  inherit  nothing 
from  his  father,  for  they  were  always  of  different  clans. 
A  man's  property  descended  to  his  nearest  kindred  through 
his  mother.  The  woman  is  always  the  head  of  the  Wyan- 
dot  family. 

Five  of  the  ancient  clans  of  the  Wyandots  are  extinct. 
They  are  as  follows:  (1)  Mud  Turtle;  (2)  Beaver;  (3) 
Striped  Turtle;  (4)  Highland,  or  Prairie  Turtle;  (5) 
Hawk. 

Those  still  in  existence  are  as  follows :  (1)  Big  Turtle ; 
(2)  Little  Turtle;  (3)  Wolf;  (4)  Deer;  (5)  Bear;  (6) 
Porcupine;  (7)  Snake. 

The  present  government  of  the  Wyandot  tribe  is  based 
on  this  ancient  division  of  the  tribes.  An  extract  from 
the  Constitution  may  be  of  interest.  It  was  adopted  Sep 
tember  23,  1873: 

"  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  Nation  to  elect  their 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOKE 


29 


officers  on  the  second  Tuesday  in  July  of  each  year. 
That  said  election  shall  be  conducted  in  the  following 
manner.  Each  Tribe  (clan),  consisting  of  the  following 
Tribes:  The  Big  and  Little  Turtle,  Porcupine,  Deer, 
Bear,  and  Snake,  shall  elect  a  chief;  and  then  the  Big 
and  Little  Turtle  and  Porcupine  Tribes  shall  select  one  of 
their  three  chiefs  as  a  candidate  for  Principal  Chief.  The 
Deer,  Bear,  and  Snake  Tribes  shall  also  select  one  of  their 
three  Chiefs  as  a  candidate  for  Principal  Chief ;  and  then 
at  the  general  election  to  be  held  on  the  day  above  men 
tioned,  the  one  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  cast 
shall  be  declared  the  Principal  Chief;  the  other  shall  be 
declared  the  Second  Chief.  The  above-named  Tribes  shall 
on  the  above-named  election  day  elect  one  or  more  sher 
iffs. 

"  The  Wolf  Tribe  shall  have  the  right  to  elect  a  Chief 
whose  duty  shall  be  that  of  Mediator. 

"  In  case  of  misdemeanor  on  the  part  of  any  Chief, 
for  the  first  offense  the  Council  shall  send  the  Mediator  r,o 
warn  the  party ;  for  the  second  offense  the  party  offending 
shall  be  liable  to  removal  by  the  Mediator,  or  Wolf  and 
his  Clan,  from  office." 

This  has  always  been  the  position  and  office  of  the 
Wolf  Clan. 

Anciently  the  office  of  sachem  or  head  chief  was  in  a 
manner  hereditary  in  a  clan  and  in  a  family,  but  if  the 
heir  was  considered  unfit  to  exercise  authority  he  was 
passed  over,  and  a  sachem  selected  by  the  tribal  council. 
In  this  event  the  chief  was  first  nominated  by  the  chiefs 
of  the  Big  Turtle,  Deer,  and  Bear  Clans,  but  not  neces- 


30 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


sarily  from  their  own  clans,  and  never  from  the  Bear 
Clan.  The  nomination  was  from  the  family  of  the  chief 
passed  over  unless  there  was  no  suitable  person  in  the 
family,  when  it  must  be  from  his  clan.  But  in  cases  of 
emergency,  or  of  great  ability  in  a  warrior  not  in  the  line 
of  heredity,  the  hereditary  chief,  family  or  clan  might  be 
passed  over  by  the  tribal  council  and  the  man  of  superior 
ability  chosen. 

Thus  the  last  Sahr'-stahr-rah'-tseh  of  the  tribe  was  of 
the  Deer  Clan,  and  was  known  to  the  white  men  as  the 
Half  King.  He  was  the  hereditary  sachem  of  the  Wyan- 
dots.  He  died  in  Detroit  in  1788,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Tarhe  of  the  Porcupine  Clan.  Tarhe  was  selected  because 
of  his  ability. 

The  passing  over  of  the  candidate  entitled  to  the  chief 
taincy  by  heredity  did  not  operate  as  an  entire  divestment 
of  his  family  or  clan  of  their  hereditary  rights,  and  as 
soon  as  they  could  produce  a  suitable  persoii  for  the 
office  they  could  demand  their  rights.  After  the  battle  of 
Fallen  Timbers  (with  General  Wayne),  the  Deer  Clan 
was  permanently  divested  of  its  hereditary  right,  the 
sachemship.  This  was  done  at  the  instance  of  the  Porcu 
pine  Clan,  which  had  possessed  the  chieftaincy  since  the 
death  of  the  Half  King,  but  the  Deer  Clan  protested 
against  this  infringement  of  the  ancient  law,  and  its 
hereditary  right,  and  has  never  relinquished  claim  to 
the  hereditary  right  to  select  the  sachem. 

The  office  of  Sahr'-stahr-rah'-tseh  was  a  special  creation, 
and  the  highest  conferred  by  the  tribe.  This  officer  was 
in  power  like  our  President,  and  like  our  General  of  the 
army,  and  like  the  Pope,  possessing  the  highest  political, 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOBE  31 

military  and  spiritual  power.  It  was  not  often  bestowed. 
After  the  death  of  the  Half  King  it  remained  vacant 
until  the  present  writer  was  "  raised  up  "  to  fill  his  place, 
on  the  22d  day  of  March,  1899.  •  . 

The  origin  of  these  clans  is  hidden  in  the  obscurity  of 
great  antiquity.  They  are  of  religious  origin.  We  learn 
something  of  them  from  the  Wyandot  mythology,  or 
folk-lore.  The  ancient  Wyandots  believed  that  they  were 
descended  from  these  animals,  for  whom  their  clans  were 
named.  The  animals  from  which  they  were  descended 
were  different  from  the  animal  of  the  same  species  to 
day.  They  were  deities,  zoological  gods.  The  animals 
of  the  same  species  are  descended  from  them.  These 
Animals  were  the  creators  of  the  universe.  The  Big 
Turtle  made  the  Great  Island,  as  North  America  was 
called  by  the  Wyandots,  and  he  bears  it  on  his  back  to 
this  day.  The  Little  Turtle  made  the  sun,  moon,  and 
many  of  the  stars.  The  Mud  Turtle  made  a  hole  through 
the  Great  Island  for  the  sun  to  pass  back  to  the  East 
through  after  setting  at  night,  so  he  could  rise  upon  a 
new  day.  While  making  this  hole  through  the  Great  Isl 
and  the  Mud  Turtle  turned  aside  from  her  work  long 
enough  to  fashion  the  future  home  of  the  Wyandots,  their 
happy  hunting-grounds,  to  which  they  go  after  death. 
The  sun  shines  there  at  night  while  on  his  way  back  to  the 
East.  This  land  is  called  the  land  of  the  Little  People,  a 
race  of  pigmies  created  to  assist  the  Wyandots.  Thay 
live 'in  it,  and  preserve  the  ancient  customs,  habits,  be 
liefs,  language  and  government  of  the  Wyandots  for  their 
use  after  they  leave  this  world  by  death.  These  Little 


32 


TWENTIETH    CENTILRY    CLASSICS 


People  come  and  go  through  the  "  living  rock,"  but  the 
Wvandots  must  go  to  it  by  way  of  a  great  underground 
city  where  they  were  once  hidden  while  the  works  of  the 
world  were  being  restored  after  destruction  in  a  war  be 
tween  two  brothers  who  were  gods. 

I  only  stop  a  moment  to  note  the  fact  that  the  ancient 
belief  of  the  Hindoos  pictured  the  world  as  borne  up  by 
a  great  turtle.  Is  it  not  entirely  possible  that  it  may  be 
determined  that  America  is  the  cradle  of  the  human  race, 
and  that  Asia  was  peopled  from  America  ?  The  Indian 
belongs  to  the  Mongolian  race,  and  there  are  many  traits 
common  to  them  and  the  Chinese.  It  is  possible  that  when 
we  study  the  Indians  we  study  the  oldest  people  in  the 
world,  instead  of  the  youngest. 

The  religion  of  the  Wyandots  was  undergoing  slow 
change  when  arrested  by  the  coming  of  the  white  man. 
The  old  Animal-gods  were  slowly  giving  place  to  two 
brothers  born  of  a  woman  who  fell  down  from  heaven.  One 
of  these  was  good  and  the  other  bad.  We  shall  learn  of 
them  in  the  mythology. 

All  Wyandot  proper  names  had  their  foundation  in 
this  clan  system.  They  were  clan  names.  The  unit  of 
the  Wyandot  social  and  political  systems  was  not  the 
family  nor  the  individual,  but  the  clan.  The  child  be 
longed  to  its  clan  first,  to  its  parents  afterwards.  Each 
clan  had  its  list  of  proper  names,  and  this  list  was  its 
exclusive  property  which  no  other  clan  could  appropriate 
or  use.  They  were  necessarily  clan  names.  They  were 
constructed  according  to  rigid  rules  and  usages  prescribed 
by  immemorial  custom,  and  the.  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Per 
sians  were  more  easily  changed  than  those  of  the  ancient 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 

Tionnontates.  No  laws  of  nations  are  so  rigidly  enforced 
as  was  custom  in  Indian  tribes  in  ancient  times.  Custom 
was  inflexible — exacting — and  could  be  modified  only  by 
long  and  persistent  effort  (and  then  by  almost  impercep 
tible  degrees),  or  by  national  disaster. 

The  customs  and  usages  governing  the  formation  of 
clan  proper  names  demanded  that  they  be  derived  from 
some  part,  habit,  action  or  peculiarity  of  the  animal  from 
which  the  clan  was  supposed  to  be  descended.  Or  they 
might  be  derived  from  some  property,  law,  or  peculiarity 
of  the  element  in  which  such  animal  lived.  Thus  a  proper 
name  was  always  a  distinctive  badge  of  the  clan  bestow 
ing  it. 

When  death  left  unused  any  original  clan  proper  name, 
the  next  child  born  into  the  clan,  if  of  the  sex  to  which  the 
vacant  name  belonged,  had  such  vacated  name  bestowed 
upon  it.  If  no  child  was  born,  and  a  stranger  was 
adopted,  this  name  was  given  to  such  adopted  person. 
This  was  the  unchangeable  law,  and  there  was  but  one 
proviso  or  exception  to  it.  When  a  child  was  born  under 
some  extraordinary  circumstance,  or  peculiarity,  or  with 
some  distinguishing  mark,  or  a  stranger  adopted  with 
these,  the  council-women  of  the  clan  informed  themselves 
of  all  the  facts  and  devised  a  name  in  which  all  these 
facts  were  imbedded.  This  name  was  made  to  conform 
to  the  ancient  law  governing  clan  proper  names  if  possi 
ble,  but  often  this  could  not  be  done.  These  special  names 
died  with  their  owners,  and  were  never  perpetuated. 

The  parents  were  not  permitted  to  name  the.  child;  the 
clan  bestowed  the  name.  Barnes  were  given  but  once  a 


34  TWBNTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

year,  and  always  at  the  ancient  anniversary  of  the  Green 
Corn  Feast.  Anciently,  formal  adoptions  could  be  made 
at  no  other  time.  The  name  was  bestowed  by  the  clan 
chief.  He  was  a  civil  officer  of  both  his  clan  and  the 
tribe.  At  an  appointed  time  in  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Green  Corn  Feast  each  clan  chief  took  an  assigned  posi 
tion,  which  in  ancient  times  was  the  Order  of  Precedence 
and  Encampment,  and  parents  having  children  to  be 
named  filed  before  him  in  the  order  of  the  ages  of  the 
children  to  be  named.  The  council-women  stood  by  the 
clan  chief,  and  announced  to  him  the  name  of  each  child 
presented,  for  all  clan  proper  names  were  made  by  the 
council-women.  The  chief  then  bestowed  the  name  upon 
the  child.  This  he  could  do  by  simply  announcing  the 
name  to  the  parents,  or  by  taking  the  child  in  his  arms 
and  addressing  it  by  the  name  selected  for  it. 

The  adoption  of  a  stranger  was  into  some  family  by 
consent,  or  at  the  instance  of  the  principal  woman  of  the 
family.  It  was  not  necessary  that  the  adoption  be  made 
at  the  Green  Corn  Feast.  The  adoption  was  not  consid 
ered  complete,  however,  until  it  was  ratified  by  the  clan 
chief  at  the  Green  Corn  Feast.  This  ratification  might 
be  accomplished  in  the  simple  ceremonial  of  being  pre 
sented  at  this  time  to  the  clan  chief  by  one  of  the  Sheriffs. 
His  clan  name  was  bestowed  upon  him,  and  he  was  wel 
comed  in  a  few  well-chosen  words,  and  the  ceremony  was 
complete.  Or  the  adoption  might  be  performed  with  as 
much  display,  ceremony  and  pomp  as  the  tribal  council 
might,  from  any  cause,  decree.  The  tribal  council  con 
trolled  in  some  degree  the  matter  of  adoptions.  In  an 
cient  times,  when  many  prisoners  of  war  were  brought  in 


WTANBOT    FOLK-LOBE  35 

it  determined  how  many  should  be  tortured  and  how 
many  adopted. 

A  man  (and  perhaps  a  woman)  might  have  two  names, 
sometimes  more.  He  was  not  prohibited  from  assuming 
an  additional  name.  The  tribal  council  might  order  a 
special  name  bestowed  upon  him  for  distinguished  ser 
vices  to  the  nation.  But  these  were  only  incidental  names, 
and  he  might  be  called  by  them  or  not  as  his  fellows  chose. 
His  clan  name  was  his  true  name,  and  while  he  might 
have  others,  he  could  not  repudiate  it  nor  lay  it  aside. 
Whatever  he  was  to  his  tribe,  or  to  others,  he  was  to  his 
clan  only  what  his  clan  name  indicated,  and  he  was  almost 
always  so  called.  Any  additional  names  he  might  pos 
sess  died  with  him ;  they  were  never  perpetuated. 

This  manner  of  naming  was  advantageous.  A  man 
disclosed  his  clan  in  telling  his  name.  The  clan  was  his 
mother;  he  was  the  child  of  the  clan;  his  name  was  his 
badge  and  always  a  sure  means  of  identification. 

I  give  a  few  Wyandot  clan  proper  names.  They  illus 
trate  the  principles  involved  in  naming. 

1.  GEORGE    WRIGHT. — Wolf    Clan.      Hah-sheh'-trah. 
Means  the  footprints  of  the  wolf. 

2.  ALFRED  MUDEATER. — Porcupine  Clan.     Reh-hooh'- 
zhah.     Means  the  act  of  the  porcupine  in  pulling  down 
the  branches  and  nipping  off  the  buds  and  bark. 

3.  MRS.  ALFRED  MUDEATER. — Deer  Clan.     Mehn'-dih- 
deh'-tih.    Means  the  echo ;  the  wonderful  talker ;  what  she 
says  goes  a  long  way  and  then  comes  back  again.    Refers 
to  the  deer's  voice  echoing  in  the  night  when  calling  to 
his  fellows. 

4.  ROBERT  ROBITAILLE. — Bear  Clan.     Teh-hooh'-kah- 


36  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

quah'-shrooh.     Means  "  Bear  with  four  eyes."    So  named 
because  he  wore  spectacles  when  he  was  adopted. 

5.  CHAKLES  LOFLAND. — Snake  Clan.     Teh'-hooh-mah'- 
yehs.  Means  "  You  cannot  see  him,"  or  "  He  is  invisible.'* 

6.  MRS.    SARAH   DAGNETT. —  Snake   Clan.     lias   two 
names.  First,  Yah'-iih-tah'-seh.   Means  "a  new  body" ;  said 
of  a  snake  when  it  slips  off  its  old  skin,  as  a  snake  does  at 
least  once  every  year.    Second,  Ooh'-dah-tohn'-teh.    Means 
"  She  has  left  her  village."     One  of  the  first  (if  not  the 
very  first)  names  in  the  list  of  names  for  women  belong 
ing  to  the  Snake  Clan.     See  my  "  Origin  of  the  Snake 
Clan  "  for  the  origin  and  full  meaning  of  this  name. 

7.  WILLIAM  WALKER. — Big  Turtle  Clan.   He  was  Pro 
visional  Governor  of  Nebraska  (Kansas)  Territory.   Had 
two  names.     First,  Sehs'-tah-roh.     Means  "  bright,"  and 
refers  to  the  turtle's  eye  shining  in  the  water.  Second,  Hah- 
shah'-rehs.     Means   "  overfull,"   and  refers  to  a  stream 
overflowing  its  banks  at  flood. 

8.  MRS.    CATHERINE    JOHNSON. —  Deer    Clan.     Yah- 
rohn'-yah-ah-wih.    Means  "  The  deer  goes  into  the  sky  and 
everywhere." 

9.  ALLEN  JOHNSON,  JR. — Deer  Clan.     Shrih'-ah-wahs. 
Means  "  Cannot  find  deer  when  he  goes  hunting." 

The  Wyandot  supposed  that  to  increase  the  size  of  the 
clan  to  which  he  belonged  he  would  please  the  Animal-god 
from  which  it  was  descended.  He  made  every  effort  to 
keep  his  clan  full ;  that  is,  keep  the  full  list  of  names  be 
longing  to  it  all  in  use.  For  this  purpose  he  made  war  to 
secure  women  and  children  for  adoption;  warriors  were 
often  captured  for  adoption.  The  old  Wyandots  have 
often  told  me  that  their  tribe  made  war  on  the  Cherokees 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


37 


for  the  express  purpose  of  securing  women  and  children 
with  which  to  make  good  the  wasting  clans.  To  allow  a 
clan  to  become  extinct  was  sure  to  call  down  the  displeas 
ure  of  the  Animal-god  for  which  the  clan  was  named 
and  from  which  it  was  supposed  it  wras  descended.  But 
notwithstanding  these  incentives  to  keep  the  clans  alive, 
two  of  them  were  extinct  as  much  as  a  century  ago,  if 
not  before  that  time.  Others  became  extinct  about  the 
time  of  the  removal  to  Kansas.  The  majority  of  the 
tribe  were  then  civilized  and  Christianized,  and  the  pagan 
interest  in  such  matters  waned  and  received  less  attention. 

III.— RELIGION. 

The  gods  of  the  Wyandots  were  those  of  the  Iroquois 
and  the  Hurons,  but  they  were  stamped  with  a  strong 
Wyandot  individuality,  and*  in  many  respects  differed  in 
attributes  from  those  of  the  nations  named.  The  Wyandot 
was  more  Iroquois  than  he  was  Huron-Iroquois,  and  he 
was  but  little  different  from  the  Seneca.  It  need  surprise 
no  one  if  it  is  finally  determined  that  the  Wyandots  were 
the  oldest  of  the  Iroquoian  family.  Their  mythology 
makes  clear  some  things  left  in  uncertainty  and  obscurity 
by  that  of  other  tribes  of  the  family.  There  are  some 
things  in  it  that  are  not  found  in  the  myths  of  any  of  the 
other  tribes.  Their  myths,  too,  are  clearer  cut,  more  defi 
nite,  and,  I  believe,  more  beautiful  in  form,  than  those 
of  other  tribes.  The  Iroquoian  family  has  been  supposed 
to  possess  little  imagination,  and  a  mythology  deficient  :n 
beautiful  conceptions.  This  opinion  is  the  result,  I  be 
lieve,  of  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  folk-lore  of 


38  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

this  strong  and  bold  people.  The  myths  of  the  woman 
who  fell  from  heaven,  the  creation  of  the  great  island,  the 
birth  of  the  twins,  the  enlargement  of  the  great  island  and 
the  peopling  of  it  with  man  and  animals,  the  destruction 
of  these  and  their  re-creation,  the  creation  of  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars,  and  many  others,  are  but  little  inferior  in  their 
bold  originality  and  beauty  of  conception  to  the  Greek 
myths. 

The  Wyandots  gave  names  of  their  own  to  the  God  of 
the  white  man,  but  as  it  is  our  intention  to  omit  all  Wy- 
andot  words  as  far  as  possible,  these  names  are  not  given. 
The  conception  of  the  Great  Spirit,  which  has  been  attrib 
uted  to  the  Indians,  was  given  them  by  early  missionaries. 
]STo  Indian  tribe  ever  had  such  a  conception  until  after 
contact  with  Europeans.  It  is  certain  that  no  single 
"  Supreme  Ruler,"  or  "  Creajtor  of  the  Universe,"  or  of 
even  the  world,  or  any  "  Manitou  "  or  "  Great  Spirit  v 
was  believed  in  or  conceived  of  by  the  ancient  Wyandots. 
This  is  true  also  of  all  the  North- American  Indians. 

They  had  no  conception  of  a  land  of  punishment  after 
death,  to  which  they  went  if  they  were  wicked  here.  Such 
a  conception  as  the  devil  of  the  white  man  no  Indian 
tribe  had  until  after  the  missionaries  came.  They  had  no 
word  that  could  be  used  for  swearing  oaths.  They  could 
not  swear  in  their  own  language,  but  soon  acquired  a 
choice  assortment  of  profanity  from  the  Christians. 

The  gods  of  the  ancient  Wyandots  were  those  of  the 
Hurons  and  the  Iroquois,  but  with  various  differences 
and  modifications  in  names  and  attributes.  They  are 
stamped  with  a  strong  Wyandot  individuality,  and  it 
need  surprise  no  one  if  it  is  finally  determined  by  investi- 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  «» 

gation  that  the  Wyandot  conceptions  are  the  originals  from 
which  were  derived  the  ideas  of  the  Hurons  and  other 
Iroquoian  peoples. 

The  legends  and  myths  of  the  Wyandots  bear  a  closer 
conformity  to  those  of  the  Senecas  than  they  do  to  those 
of  the  Hurons  as  recorded  by  the  Jesuits,  who  were  the 
first  missionaries  to  the  Huron  towns.  The  traditions  of 
the  Wyandots  indicate  long  association  with  the  Senecas, 
and  a  comparatively  recent  separation  from  them. 

But  the  Wyandots  believed  there  was  a  world  above 
this,  ruled  over  by  a  mighty  chief.  This  chief  seems  to 
have  been  immortal.  His  name  might  be  expressed  as 
the  Chief  above  the  sky,  or  the  Mighty  Ruler.  He  ruled 
the  world  above  the  sky,  and  was  the  father  of  the  Woman 
who  fell  down  from  heaven.  Many  supernatural  powers 
were  attributed  to  him.  Whether  or  not  the  belief  in  his 
supernatural  powers  is  the  result  of  a  degeneracy  of  the 
ancient  Wyandot  faith  from  contact  with  the  foreign  be 
lief  of  a  stronger  people,  it  may  be  impossible  to  satis 
factorily  determine.  But  that  this  belief  has  existed  from 
time  immemorial  is  the  claim  of  the  old  Wyandots  with 
whom  I  have  talked  upon  the  subject ;  and  there  is  nothing 
to  disprove  their  averment.  I  may  say  that  it  is  certain 
that  he  was  regarded  as  were  Eataentsic  and  Jouskeha 
by  the  Hurons,  as  recorded  by  Le  June: 

"  This  God  and  Goddess  live  like  themselves,  but  with 
out  form,  make  feasts  as  they  do,  are  lustful  as  they;  La 
short,  they  imagine  them  exactly  like  themselves.  And 
still,  though  they  make  them  human  and  corporal,  they 
seem  nevertheless  to  attribute  to  them  certain  immensity 
in  all  places." 


4:0  TWKXTIKTU     rK.VITKY     CLASSICS 

Even  if  in  the  ancient  Wyandot  mind  lie  always  pos 
sessed  these  powers,  he  did  not  conform  to  otir  idea  of 
what  the  Wyandot  is  supposed  to  understand  or  wish  to 
express  by  the  term  "  Great  Spirit."  He  ruled  only  as 
the  "Head  Chief."  He  had  a  family;  and  when  any 
member  of  it  was  sick  he  called  the  medicine  man,  as  we 
poorly  translate  the  term.  In  fact,  aside  from  his  sup 
posed  magical  powers,  he  was  there  in  that  land  only 
what  a  mighty  chief  is  here  in  this  world.  And  I  have 
been  able  to  discover  little  evidence  that  he  ever  interested 
himself  in  the  affairs  of  this  lower  world  or  its  people. 
I  have  found  none  at  all  that  he  exercised  any  power  or 
influence  whatever  upon  the  souls  of  people  after  their 
death  and  departure  from  this  world.  I  cannot  say  that 
he  was  never  supposed  to  possess  such  power ;  such  power 
may  have  been  attributed  to  him;  but  I  have  found  no 
evidences  of  it.  And,  in  truth,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
discover  that  it  was  held  that  his  land  Avas  in  any  way 
different  from  what  we  find  this  lower  world  at  this  time, 
so  far  as  physical  phenomena  may  indicate. 

This  chief  was,  in  a  sense,  the  progenitor  of  the  people 
of  our  world  as  known  to  the  ancient  Wjandots.  But 
these  people  were  "  created  "  by  his  grandsons,  the  Twins, 
the  sons  of  his  daughter,  the  Woman  who  fell  from  heaven. 
By  all  that  I  have  heard,  he  was  surpassed  in  power  by 
these  grandsons,  the  Twins,  and  especially  in  matters 
pertaining  to  this  world. 

THE    GOD    OF    NATURE. 

The  Wyandots  had  a  God  of  the  Forest  and  all  Nature. 
His  name  means  "  The  Great  One  of  the  Water  and  the 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 

Land."  He  was  the  deification  of  the  mythical  Tseh'-stah, 
the  Good  One  of  the  Twins  born  of  the  Woman  who  fell 
from  heaven.  His  name  is  only  a  variation  of  the  name 
of  Tseh'-stah,  with  the  attribute  of  greatness  added. 

The  Wyandot  God  of  Nature  was  the  Jouskeha  of  the 
Hurons.  The  Wyandot  and  Huron  accounts  of  his  birth 
differ.  Parkman  identifies  him  with  the  Sun.  The  Wy- 
andots  explain  the  creation  of  the  sun  by  a  different  myth. 
They  say  the  sun  was  made  by  the  Little  Turtle,  at  the  in 
stance  of  the  Animals  in  Council  assembled.  But  the  God 
of  Nature,  notwithstanding,  was  the  most  important  God  of 
the  Wyandot  Mythology.  He  made  the  corn,  tobacco,  beans 
and  pumpkins  grow;  he  provided  fish  and  game  for  the 
people.  I  find,  however,  no  evidence  anywhere  that  the 
Wyandots  worshipped  him  at  any  time,  or  at  any  period 
of  their  history.  His  place  of  abode  was  not  definitely 
fixed  by  them,  although  he  was  supposed  to  live  somewhere 
in  the  East.  They  thought  that  he  often  manifested  him 
self  to  them,  being  seen  in  the  forests,  fields,  lakes  and 
streams.  If  "the  stalk  of  corn  seen  in  his  hand  was  full- 
eared,  well-grown,  and  perfectly  grained,  a  bountiful  har 
vest  was  indicated ;  but  if  it  was  blasted  and  withered,  no 
corn  was  to  be  expected,  and  famine  was  imminent.  If  he 
carried  in  his  hand  the  bare  bone  of  fish  or  game,  it  was 
certain  that  none  of  either  could  be  taken  or  killed  for  a 
season.  If,  pale  and  gaunt,  he  entered  any  village  gnaw 
ing  the  shrunken,  withered  limb  of  human  being,  he 
thereby  foretold  famine  so  dire  that  many  Wyandots  must 
perish  from  hunger  and  plague  before  it  was  stayed.  But  1 
could  not  learn  that  it  was  ever  supposed  or  held  that  he 


**  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

caused,  or  that  he  could  prevent,  the  visitation  of  the  im 
pending  catastrophe. 

THE    WAR    GOD. 

The  ancient  Wyandots  had  a  War  God.  The  only  trans 
lation  of  this  name  that  I  could  ever  get  is, 

"  Warrior  not  afraid,"  or 

"  Warrior  not  afraid  of  Battle." 

He  was  a  deity  of  much  consequence  to  the  Wyandots, 
but  I  have  been  unable  to  learn  from  them  anything  what 
ever  in  relation  to  his  origin.  If  he  had  not  been  pre 
viously  offended,  victory  was  sure  to  rest  with  the  Wyan 
dots,  regardless  of  the  stress  to  which  they  had  been 
pushed  by  any  of  the  adverse  circumstances  of  battle; 
but  if  offense  had  been  offered  him,  no  victory,  but  defeat 
only,  could  be  had  until  a  propitiation  had  been  made. 
I  found  nothing  to  signify  that  he  ever  required,  as  a 
propitiation,  human  sacrifice,  under  even  the  most  extreme 
provocation,  although  the  Wyandots  undoubtedly  tortured 
prisoners  of  war  in  ancient  times.  Writers  accord  the  Wy 
andots  the  highest  place  for  bravery  in  battle.  They  were 
also  exceptionally  humane  in  their  treatment  of  captives, 
the  leading  families  in  numbers  and  influence  in  the 
tribe  since  Wayne's  victory  being  those  founded  by  white 
prisoners  that  were  adopted  by  them.  It  is  possible  that 
they  were  influenced  in  both  instances  by  their  faith  in 
their  God  of  War. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  name  of  this  War  God  to  identify 
him  with  Areskoui,  the  War  God  of  the  Hurons,  although 
it  is  very  probable  that  they  are  identical.  It  is  said  that 
he  has  been  identified  with  the  sun,  and  he  is,  perhaps,  to 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  4o 

be  regarded  as  the  God  of  Nature  under  different  attri 
butes. 

THE    GOD    OF    DKEAMS. 

The  Wyandot  had  a  God  of  Dreams.  The  name  signi 
fies 

"  The  Kevealer,"  or 

"  He  makes  the  Vision,"  or 

"  He  makes  the  Dream." 

He  was  supposed  to  have  something  to  do  with  the 
supernatural  influences  that  acted  upon  this  life,  and  he 
revealed  the  effects  of  these  influences  to  the  Wyandots  in 
dreams.  All  visions  and  dreams  came  from  him,  for  he 
had  control  of  the  souls  of  the  Wyandots  while  they  slept 
or  were  unconscious  from  injury  or  from  disease.  The 
medicine  man  could  detach  his  soul  from  his  body  and 
send  it  to  the  God  of  Dreams  for  information  at  any  time, 
and  during  its  absence  he  was  in  a  trance-like  condition. 
As  all  dreams  and  visions  were  considered  direct  revela 
tions  from  the  Dream  God,  they  were  regarded  as  of  the 
very  highest  significance  and  of  the  first  importance.  No 
God  of  the  Wyandots  was  held  in  higher  esteem — no  other 
exerted  so  great  an  influence  directly  upon  their  social 
institutions  as  the  God  of  Dreams.  Even  to  this  day  the 
Wyandots  attach  supreme  significance  to  their  dreams. 

Under  the  name  of  Tarenyowagon  or  Teharonhiawagon 
this  God  was  recognized  by  the  Iroquois  proper,  or  Five 
Nations.  I  find  no  account  of  any  god  of  this  name  among 
the  Hurons,  although  from  the  known  importance  which 
they  attached  to  dreams  he  was  probably  a  Huron  God 
also,  but  with  some  different  name  from  that  given  him 
by  either  the  Wyandots  or  the  Iroquois. 


TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 
THE    THUNDER    GOD. 

Heh'-noh  was  the  Thunder  God  of  the  Wyandots.  By 
some  accounts  he  came  into  the  world  with  the  Woman  who 
fell  from  heaven.  The  thunder  is  only  the  voice  of  this  God, 
and  it  is  called  heh'-noh.  Heh'-noh  was  a  God  much  in 
esteem  with  the  Wyandots ;  he  was  always  rendering 
them  some  service  or  shewing  them  some  favor — fighting 
for  them — slaying  some  monster — or  sending  rain.  He 
liked  to  dwell  about  the  streams  and  lakes,  and  especially 
about  the  cataracts  or  waterfalls  which  "  had  a  loud  voice," 
i.  e.,  which  made  a  continuous  and  deafening  roar.  He 
lived  for  ages  in  the  caverns  behind  Niagara  Falls.  When 
he  left  that  place  he  is  supposed  to  have  gone  to  some  un 
known  point  in  the  far  Northwest  to  seek  a  permanent 
home.  For  this  reason  the  West  Wind  is  defied  by  the 
Wyandots;  they  believed  it  was  sent  them  by  Heh'-noh 
directly  from  his  dwelling-place;  and  that  he  rode  in  the 
thunder-heads  which  it  wafted  along  the  sky. 

The  Wyandots  relate  the  same  legend  of  the  residence  of 
Heh'-noh  at  Niagara  Falls  that  is  told  by  the  Senecas. 
The  variation  is  very  slight,  really  little  more  than  would 
be  made  by  different  members  of  the  tribe  of  Senecas. 

THE  ANIMALS. 

The  Wyandot  mythology  endowed  the  ancient  Animals 
with  great  power  of  the  supernatural  order.  This  is  es 
pecially  true  of  those  Animals  used  by  them  as  totems  or 
clan  insignia,  and  from  whom  they  were  anciently  de 
scended.  Of  the  Animals,  the  Big  Turtle  stands  in  first 
place.  He  caused  the  Great  Island  (North  America)  to 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


45 


grow  on  his  back,  for  a  resting-place  and  home  for  the 
Woman  who  fell  down  from  heaven.  He  is  supposed  to 
carry  the  Great  Island  on  his  back  to  this  day. 

The  Little  Turtle  is  second  in  rank  and  importance  in 
the  list  of  Animals.  By  order  of  the  Council  of  these 
Animals  he  made  the  Sun;  he  made  the  Moon  to  be  the 
Sun's  wife.  He  made  all  the  fixed  stars;  but  the  stars 
which  "  run  about  the  sky  "  are  supposed  to  be  the  chil 
dren  of  the  Sun  and  Moon.  The  Sun,  Moon  and  Stars 
were  made  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  Woman 
who  fell  from  heaven.  To  do  this  it  was  necessary  for 
the  Little  Turtle  to  go  up  to  the  sky,  and  this  difficult  mat 
ter  was  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  the  Thunder  God.  The 
Deer  was  the  second  Animal  to  get  into  the  sky;  this  he 
did  by  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  Rainbow.  And  after 
ward  all  the  other  totemic  Animals  except  the  Mud  Turtle 
went  up  to  the  sky  by  the  same  way,  and  they  are  supposed 
to  be  living  there  to  this  present  time.  The  Mud  Turtle  is 
appointed  to  rule  over  the  land  of  the  Little  People,  in  the 
interior  of  the  earth.  The  Animals  seem  to  have  governed 
the  world  before  the  Woman  fell  from  heaven,  and  for 
some  time  after  that  important  event.  Among  the  Ani 
mals  mentioned  by  the  Wyandots  as  living  here  before  the 
Woman's  advent  are  the  Big  Turtle,  the  Little  Turtle,  the 
Toad,  the  two  Swans,  the  Otter,  the  Beaver,  the  Snake, 
the  Bear,  the  Wolf,  the  Hawk,  the  Deer,  the  Porcupine, 
the  Muskrat,  and  many  others.  Where  and  how  the  land 
animals  lived  when  all  was  covered  with  water  is  not  ex 
plained.  In  the  ancient  mythology  these  land  animals 
may  have  been  absent  or  wanting  until  after  the  creation 


46  TWENTIETH    CENTITRY    CLASSICS 

of  the  Great  Island,  but  I  heard  them  spoken  of  as  con 
temporaneous  with  the  Turtles,  the  Toad,  and  the  Swans. 

THE  WOMAN  THAT  FELL  FROM  HEAVEN. 

The  Woman  that  fell  from  heaven  is  an  important  per 
sonage   in   the  Wyandot  mythology.      No  supernatural* 
powers  were  attributed  to  her  while  on  earth  by  any  legend 
I  ever  heard  from  the  Wyandots.    She  has  no  name,  that  I 
have  been  able  to  discover. 

As  to  the  cause  of  her  falling  into  this  lower  world,  the 
Wyandot  myth  leaves  it  to  be  inferred  that  it  was  purely 
an  unfortunate  and  unexpected  event  of  accidental  nature 
— unfortunate  for  her  father,  who  thereby  lost  a  daughter, 
but  very  fortunate  for  the  Wyandots  and  all  after-dwellers 
in  this  lower  world.  The  Animals  devised  the  Great  Isl 
and  and  the  lights  in  the  sky  for  her  convenience  and  com 
fort.  After  the  birth  of  the  Twins  nothing  more  is  heard 
directly  of  her  in  connection  with  this  world.  But  that 
she  remained  here  is  to  be  inferred,  for  in  the  great  Yooh'- 
wah-tah'-yoh  she  had  charge  of  the  Wyandots  while  her 
son  went  forth  to  re-create  the  works  of  the  world.  She 
was  directed  by  her  father  what  to  call  the  Twins,  and  the 
myth  leaves  the  inference  that  she  brought  them  up,  but  I 
was  never  able  to  get  any  positive  statement  to  that  effect. 
She  is  again  unlike  the  Huron  Eataentsic  in  having  noth 
ing  to  do  with  the  destinies  of  the  world  and  its  inhabit 
ants.  The  Wyandot  mythology  ignores  the  mother  of  the 
"  creator  "  of  the  Wyandots,  after  the  birth  of  the  Twins, 
so  far  as  this  life  is  concerned.  This  might  be  explained 
by  contending  that  the  myth  as  heard  at  this  day  is  incom 
plete  and  fragmentary.  This  may  be,  but  I  think  it  more 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 

• 

probable  that  after  the  birth  of  the  Twins,  no  further  con 
sideration  in  this  life  was  accorded  the  Woman  that  fell 
from  heaven.  She  was  assigned  a  station  in  the  great  under 
ground  city  or  Yodh'-wah-tah'-yoh,  to  assist  the  souls  of  all 
dead  Wyandote  on  their  way  to  the  land  of  the  Little 
People. 

On  the  Great  Island  this  Woman  that  fell  down  from 
heaven  found  living  an  old  woman  who  took  her  to  live 
with  her  in  her  lodge,  and  whom  she  called  Sh66h'-tah'~ah, 
i.  e.,  her  Grandmother.  Her  sole  office  seems  to  have  been 
to  furnish  a  home  to  the  Woman  that  fell  from  heaven — 
a  lodge,  a  home. 

THE    TWINS. 

Their  names  were  bestowed  by  direction  of  their  Grand 
father,  the  Mighty  Ruler.  One  was  Good,  the  other  Evil.1 
The  Good  One  was  called  by  the  name  which  means  "  Man 
made  of  fire."  The  Bad  One  was  called  by  a  name  which 
means  "  Man  made  of  Flint"  These  names  are  too  long 
and  unpronounceable  to  be  written  in  a  work  of  this  char 
acter.  In  their  stead  we  shall  use  the  Wyandot  words  for 
"  fire  "  and  "  flint "  for  these  names.  This  makes  the 
name  of  the  Good  One  Tseh'-stah,  and  the  name  of  the  Bad 
One  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh.  These  words  are  not  the  Wyandot 
names,  but  are  used  in  this  work  for  them. 

The  ancient  Wyandots  ascribed  the  world  as  modified 
for  their  use,  to  the  supernatural  powers  and  efforts  of 

JThe  terms  "good"  and  "bad"  as  applied  to  these  brothers  do  not  express  moral 
good  and  evil  as  we  understand  these  principles.  It  might  be  said  that  they  more 
properly  express  the  ideas,  Friend  and  Enemy.  A  moral  good  and  evil  might  have 
developed  from  these  ideas.  They  embraced  the  fundamental  ideas  of  such,  and  con 
tained  the  germs  of  a  moral  good  and  evil. 


48  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

• 

these  Brothers,  the  Twins.  iJriiiton  says,  "  In  effect  n 
myth  of  creation  is  nowhere  found  among  primitive  na 
tions."  The  Wyandot  mythology  does  not  begin  until 
there  is  something  to  begin  with,  and  so  far  as  the  creation 
of  the  world  is  concerned  no  attempt  is  made  to  account 
for  it  in  the  condition  we  first  see  it  when  the  Swans  were 
swimming  about  in  the  Great  Water.  The  Great  Island 
was  made  by  the  Big  Turtle,  of  earth  that  fell  down  from 
heaven  with  the  Woman,  and  the  myth  says  that  it  was 
enlarged  by  the  brothers,  and  that  they  "  created  "  the  peo 
ple — Indians  found  upon  it.  In  this  matter  of  the  creation 
of  peoples,  perhaps  the  greater  number  of  accounts  say 
that  the  brothers  brought  them  from  the  land  of  their 
Grandfather.  But  the  Wyandot  begins  with  the  fall  of 
the  Woman  from  heaven,  the  world  above  ours,  down  to 
this.  There  existed  two  worlds,  then,  when  he  begins, — 
the  one  we  now  inhabit,  and  heaven.  Heaven  is,  of  course, 
not  a  Wyandot  term.  This  old  Wyandot  word  means 
"  The  world  beyond  the  sky,"  and  has  always  meant  just 
that,  but  the  Christian  has  taken  it  to  represent  his  heaven. 
In  this  sense  the  ancient  Wyandot  did  not  use  it.  To  him 
it  did  not  represent  a  country  in  which  he  was  to  sojourn 
after  death,  in  a  state  of  bliss,  if  he  was  a  good  Indian 
here.  In  his  belief  this  upper  world  was  then  precisely 
what  the  Great  Island  was  before  the  coming  of  the  white 
man,  except  that  it  was  peopled  with  Wyandots  only.  The 
lower  world  was  a  watery  waste,  so  far  as  Wyandot  knowl 
edge  extends.  If  we  can  believe  Morgan,  the  same  thing 
can  be  affirmed  of  the  Senecas.  There  was  no  sun,  no 
moon,  no  stars.  But  the  animals  dwelt  here.  Cusick  gives 
the  same  account  for  the  Tuscaroras.  What  was  accom- 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 

plished  iii  the  way  of  world  creation  was  some  wonderful 
things  performed  with  material  found  already  at  hand. 

As  to  the  final  fate  of  the  brothers,  accounts  differ.  In 
some  the  Bad  One  was  slain  by  the  Good  One  during  the 
war  between  them  and  the  people  they  had  created,  under 
their  respective  leaderships.  Some  forms  of  the  story 
have  it  that  he  was  banished  to  some  other  world.  That 
he  was  slain  in  a  battle  with  his  brother  (and  by  his 
brother  in  single  combat)  is  perhaps  the  most  ancient  and 
correct  belief.  The  Good  One  is  supposed  to  dwell  yet 
at  some  unknown  place  in  fhe  far  East,  on  the  shores  of 
the  Great  Water. 

The  Wyandot  account  of  the  enlargement  of  the  Great 
Island,  the  creation  of  men  and  animals,  their  destruction 
and  re-creation,  is  one  of  the  strangest  conceptions  of  the 
human  mind.  The  myth  is  orderly  in  arrangement,  clear- 
cut,  strong.  It  bears  the  impress  of  vigorous  intellect, 
and  strong  national  individuality.  It  is  the  effort  of  the 
imtutored  savage  to  account  for  the  world  in  which  he 
finds  himself  placed.  In  the  light  of  modern  learning  it 
is  absurd  and  grotesque,  but  when  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  conceived  are  considered,  it  becomes  a  produc 
tion  of  remarkable  strength  and  beauty. 

THE    LITTLE    PEOPLE. 

The  Little  People  occupy  an  important  place  in  Wy 
andot  mythology.  Their  name  signifies  "  The  Twins." 
This  name  seems  to  have  been  given  them  for  several 
reasons.  First,  they  were  the  only  people  made  by  Tseh- 
stiih,  except  the  Wyandots,  and  for  this  reason  the  Wyan- 


50 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


dots  called  them  a  Twin  People  to  themselves.  Second, 
they  were  created  in  pairs;  and  they  were  born  in  pairs, 
or  twins,  only.  They  never  operated  singly  in  the  accom 
plishment  of  any  enterprise ;  and  only  in  very  rare  in 
stances  were  more  than  two  of  them  required  for  the 
performance  of  any  task  or  purpose,  however  great  01 
severe.  Two  of  them  expelled  the  Witch  Buffaloes  from 
the  Big  Bone  Licks  in  Kentucky.  The  Wyandots  claim 
that  the  footsteps  of  these  two  of  the  Little  People  thai 
expelled  these  Witch  Buffaloes,  and  also  the  impressions 
left  by  them  when  and  where  they  crouched  down,  can  be 
yet  plainly  seen  in  the  huge  masses  of  stone  all  over  that 
part  of  Kentucky  in  the  vicinity  of  these  Licks.  The 
Rev.  Smith  Nichols,  a  Quaker  preacher,  a  Wyandot,  and 
Chief  of  the  Deer  Clan,  also  hereditary  chief  of  the 
Wyandot  tribe,  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  great  worth, 
living  now  in  the  Seneca  country,  Indian  Territory,  in 
forms  me  that  he  has  not  only  seen  these  footsteps  and 
body-prints,  but  also  the  imprints  of  the  little  bows  and 
arrows  of  the  Little  People  in  the  solid  rock  in  Ohio,  Ken 
tucky,  and  the  Indian  Territory.  He  implicitly  believes 
that  he  has. 

Tseh'-stah  created  the  Little  People  to  aid  him  and  the 
Wyandots  to  overcome  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  and  his  people 
in  the  war  in  which  the  first  creation  was  destroyed.  They 
were  of  very  diminutive  size,  but  they  possessed  marvelous 
supernatural  powers.  They  lived  (and  they  are  supposed 
to  live  yet)  in  stone  caves  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth ;  but 
in  these  caves  are  forests,  streams,  game,  night  and  day, 
heat  and  cold,  as  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  These  Little 
People  are  represented  as  living  precisely  as  the  ancient 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOBE  51 

Wyandots  lived,  and  as  having  the  laws,  customs,  social 
organization,  political  and  religions  institutions  of  the 
ancient  Wyandots,  and  these  it  is  their  task,  duty  and 
pleasure  to  preserve  in  all  their  primeval  purity  for  the 
Wyandots  to  have  and  to  use  in  this  land,  to  which  they 
will  go  after  death.  The  Little  People  were  regarded  as 
the  guardians  of  the  Wyandots  both  in  this  world  and  in 
the  world  to  come.  They  were  supposed  by  the  Wyandots 
to  be  constantly  fighting  the  Flying  Heads,  the  monster 
bears,  snakes  and  other  animals  of  great  size  that  plagued 
them.  They  have  the  power  to  enter  and  pass  through 
solid  rock,  and  they  always  pass  through  the  "  living  rock  " 
in  returning  to  their  subterranean  home;  and  this  home 
is  pictured  as  one  of  ideal  beauty,  according  to  the  Indian 
standard,  but  no  one  in  all  the  realms  of  Indian  imagina 
tion,  natural  or  supernatural,  ever  has  or  ever  can  see  this 
beautiful  country  except  the  Little  People,  until  after 
death,  when  it  is  to  be  also  the  abode  of  the  Wyandots. 
It  is  ruled  now  by  the  Mud  Turtle  who  made  it,  but  at 
the  end  of  time  the  Woman  who  fell  from  heaven  is  to 
take  charge  of  it  as  ruler. 


The  hdoh'-keh  was  the  "  medicine  man  "  of  the  Wyan 
dots,  and  the  ooh'-keh  was  the  "  medicine  woman."  The 
term  "  medicine  "  is,  in  my  opinion,  a  poor  one  for  the 
Wyandot  expression  for  which  it  is  used.  It  seems,  how 
ever,  to  be  accepted  generally,  and  no  better  word  seems 
available.  The  terms  hooh'-keh.  and  ooh'-keh  are  not,  in 
the  Wyandot,  restricted  to  men  and  women.  Anything 
supposed  to  possess  any  supernatural  power,  or  to  exert 


52  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

any  supernatural  influence,  was  anciently  denominated  by 
one  of  these  terms.  The  office  of  the  "  medicine  man  " 
was  practically  the  same  in  the  different  tribes  of  the 
Iroquoian  family.  Their  functions  have  been  so  often  de 
scribed  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  them  here. 


THE    MYTHS 


I.— SOUKCES  OF  INFORMATION. 

The  myths  are  written  as  I  heard  them  from  the  old 
Wyandots.  The  accounts  of  some  of  them  differed  from 
the  versions  of  others  who  repeated  these  ancient  beliefs 
to  me.  Some  could  repeat  only  the  vague  and  confused 
outlines  of  a  myth;  others  could  repeat  the  whole  of  it, 
together  with  many  modern  additions,  modifications  and 
corruptions.  I  have  heard  the  merest  allusion  to  a  myth 
and  then  been  unable  to  obtain  anything  more  about  it  for 
weeks,  sometimes  months,  and  in  the  case  of  the  Stone 
Giants  it  was  more  than  a  year  from  the  time  I  first  heard 
the  story  outlined  until  I  could  get  anything  like  a  satisfac 
tory  version  of  it.  I  sought  every  opportunity  to  hear 
these  myths,  and  became  so  familiar  with  them  that  I 
could  repeat  them  to  the  Wyandots  better  (as  they  said) 
than  any  of  them  could  relate  them  themselves.  I  have 
tried  to  write  out  simple  statements  of  the  oldest  versions 
that  I  could  hear.  After  studying  well  and  for  years  the 
different  versions  that  I  could  hear  of  a  myth,  and  reject 
ing  known  interpolations,  additions  and  distortions,  and 
supplying  from  one  account  what  another  lacked,  I  have 
told  the  story  as  I  could  see  it  should  be  and  as  I  felt  that 

(53) 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

it  anciently  had  been.  And  I  have  had  old  Wyandots, 
after  hearing  me  relate  these  legends,  say  with  much  de 
light  and  great  satisfaction,  "  Why,  you  are  more  Wyandot 
than  we  are."  "  That  story  you  told  like  my  grand 
father  told  it."  "  I  seemed  to  hear  the  words  of  the  old 
people  while  you  were  talking."  "  My  grandmother  told 
that  story  in  the  same  way  when  I  was  a  child."  Or, 
"  We  had  forgotten  the  old  stories,  and  now  a  white  man 
comes  and  restores  them  to  us."  These  and  many  other 
expressions  of  approval  I  often  heard  from  the  old  Wy 
andots  in  my  relation  of  these  myths. 

Among  the  Wyandot  people  who  have  been  particularly 
helpful  to  me  in  gathering  up  the  fragments  of  their  folk 
lore  that  remain  are  the  following: 

GEOEGE    WEIGHT. 

The  first  place  belongs  to  George  Wright.  He  was  a 
most  remarkable  man.  He  had  a  most  remarkable  history, 
too,  and  at  the  risk  of  being  tedious  I  will  give  here  a 
brief  outline  of  it. 

He  was  a  Wyandot  only  by  adoption.  His  clan  was 
that  of  the  Wolf.  His  name  was  Hah-sheh'-trah,  and 
means  "  The  footprint  of  the  Wolf."  By  blood  he  was  a 
St.  Regis  Seneca,  his  father  having  been  one-half  St.  Regis 
Seneca  and  one-half  French.  His  mother  was  one-half 
Delaware  and  one-half  negro. 

His  grandmother  was  captured  in  Guinea,  Africa.  She 
and  other  children  were  playing  about  the  outskirts  of  a 
negro  village;  suddenly  they  heard  the  alarm  which  de 
noted  the  presence  of  slave-stealers.  The  children  fled,  but 
this  little  girl  was  unable  to  hold  way  with  the  larger  ones ; 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOBE  55 

she  was  about  six  years  old,  and  very  small  of  her  age. 
She  was  captured  by  the  pursuers,  who  proved  to  be  a  party 
of  French  slavers.  They  carried  her  to  the  Martinique 
Islands,  where  they  kept  her  for  some  time;  here  there 
were  many  other  negroes,  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  torn 
from  their  homes  as  she  had  been.  After  some  time  she 
was  taken  aboard  a  ship,  which  was  loaded  with  her 
people.  The  vessel  stood  out  to  sea;  none  of  the  negroes 
had  any  idea  of  their  ultimate  destination.  When  the 
ship  had  been  at  sea  a  few  days  it  was  attacked  by.  the 
English,  and  captured.  The  crew  of  the  French  ship  were 
put  to  the  sword;  the  negroes  were  carried  to  America. 
At  Philadelphia  Wright's  grandmother  was  sold  to  a 
Delaware  Indian.  She  was  both  slave  and  wife  to  the 
Delaware.  Wright's  mother  was  born  to  her  while  she 
Avas  the  wife  and  chattel  of  this  Indian.  Sometime  during 
the  War  of  the  Eevolution  this  Delaware  sold  his  slave- 
wife  and  her  daughter  to  the  Kohn'-tohn-deh  (or  War- 
pole)  of  the  Wyandots;  they  were  adopted  by  the  Wy- 
andots.  Soon  after  the  adoption  the  daughter  was  married 
to  the  St.  Kegis  Seneca,  Wright's  father.  Wright  remem 
bered  his  grandmother  well;  he  often  heard  her  tell  the 
story  of  her  life. 

Wright  was  born  at  Upper  Sandusky,  March  20,  1812. 
lie  grew  to  manhood  there  and  in  Canada.  He  was  small 
of  stature,  had  long  straight  hair  but  slightly  gray,  and  a 
long  straight  beard  a  little  more  gray  than  his  hair.  He 
Had  a  fine  face  with  clean-cut  and  regular  features,  with 
much  the  appearance  of  that  of  a  Hindoo  sage.  He  had 
none  of  the  marks  of  the  negro,  but  possessed  the  negro's 
love  of  music  and  delighted  to  play  on  his  violin,  an  in- 


56  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

stnimeiit  which  he  had  owned  for  more  than  fifty  years. 
He  died  January  31,  1899,  of  pneumonia.  Until  within 
a  month  of  his  death  he  had  always  enjoyed  the  best  of 
health,  but  had  been  almost  blind  for  a  number  of  years. 

He  entered  the  Indian  service  under  Gen.  Lewis  Cass, 
at  the  age  of  twenty.  His  ability  made  him  a  valuable 
man,  and  lie  was  the  best  interpreter  ever  in  the  service 
of  Gen.  Cass,  as  evidenced  by  a  written  statement  which  the 
General  gave  him,  and  which  he  treasured  for  many  years. 
His  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character  made  him  of  great 
value  to  the  Indian  service.  His  intelligence  was  of  a 
high  order,  and  he  was  possessed  of  some  education  ac 
quired  by  his  own  efforts,  and  was  an  extensive  reader. 
He  has  told  me  that  he  was  never  under  the  influence  of 
intoxicating  liquors  in  his  life. 

In  1850  he  came  to  the  Wyandots  in  Kansas.  In  1853 
his  house  was  accidentally  burned,  and  seeing  that  the 
Wyandots  would  soon  have  to  give  up  their  lands,  he  went 
to  the  Senecas  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  settled  on 
Sycamore  creek,  immediately  below  the  Yankee-Bill 
Prairie,  where  he  lived  until  his  death.  This  part  of  the 
Seneca  Reservation  was  afterwards  sold  to  the  Wyandots, 
who  re-adopted  him  into  their  tribe,  and  he  was  given  an 
allotment  of  160  acres,  which  included  his  home  and  im 
provements.  Here  he  re-entered  the  Indian  service,  and 
was  the  official  interpreter  at  the  Quapaw  Agency  for  six 
teen  years.  He  spoke  perfect  Wyandot,  Seneca,  Cayuga, 
Delaware,  and  Shawnee.  His  English  was  good,  almost 
perfect.  His  discourse  was  logical,  his  ideas  clear-cut  and 
well  defined,  orderly,  and  well  arranged. 

I  often  visited  him  at  his  home,     He  was  the  best  in- 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


57 


formed  person  in  the  manners,  customs,  social  organi 
zation,  political  and  religious  institutions  of  the  ancient 
Wyandots,  Senecas,  Delawares,  and  Shawnees  that  I  ever 
met  or  became  acquainted  with.  Most  of  the  myths  of  the 
Wyandots  which  I  have  preserved  I  obtained  from  him, 
and  the  help  he  gave  me  enabled  me  to  make  some  orderly 
arrangement  of  material  which  I  had  obtained  in  so  con 
fused  form  as  to  be  worthless  to  me.  Most  that  I  have 
written  on  these  subjects  bears  the  impress  of  his  mind. 
Some  of  the  myths  are  his  in  entirety.  He  gave  me  ver 
sions  of  all  of  them. 

On  the  day  of  his  death  he  called  to  his  bedside  his 
aged  wife,  and  said  to  her,  "  I  must  leave  you  soon." 
Then  he  carefully  smoothed  and  arranged  his  long  hair 
and  beard,  crossed  his  hands  upon  his  breast,  and  died  as 
peacefully  as  an  infant  sleeps. 

His  sister,  Sarah  Clark,  was  born  in  1806.  She  is  still 
living,  and  is  in  good  health.  I  have  met  her  often  at  his 
house.  She  sews  and  does  other  housework  without  the  aid 
of  glasses.  She  does  not  look  so  much  like  an  Indian  as 
did  Wright,  but  shows  the  negro  blood  plainly. 

Wright  was  well  acquainted  with  Captain  Bull-Head, 
both  in  Ohio  and  Kansas,  and  gave  him  credit  for  being  the 
best  informed  man  in  the  old  songs,  traditions  and  folk-lore 
of  the  Wyandots  that  lived  in  his  generation.  He  often 
quoted  Bull-Head  as  infallible  authority.  Through  him  I 
heard  the  version  of  these  myths  as  recited  by  Captain 
Bull-Head.  And  this  brings  me  to  some  remarks  concern 
ing  this  most  peculiar  man. 


58  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

CAPTAIN    BULL-HEAD. 

Captain  Bull-Head  was  the  purest  in  blood  of  any  Wy- 
andot  that  came  West  from  Ohio.  He  was  a  genuine  In 
dian  in  all  his  ways  and  inclinations.  He  died  in 
Wyandotte  county,  Kansas,  about  the  year  1860.  I  have 
made  many  inquiries  concerning  his  character  and  mental 
inclinations,  believing  that  if  I  could  get  a  full  knowledge 
and  a  fair  comprehension  of  these  I  would  be  in  possession 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  ancient  Wyandot  mind  as 
fully  as  was  possible  in  my  day  and  generation.  I  have 
believed  that  to  write  intelligently  of  the  ancient  beliefs 
of  the  Wyandots  one  should  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the 
ancient  people  of  that  tribe  as  much  as  is  possible  for 
one  of  a  different  race  and  environment. 

The  Captain  lived  in  a  house  near  that  of  Matthew 
Brown.  This  was  in  a  portion  of  the  Wyandot  Purchase 
where  those  of  purest  Indian  blood  settled.  The  people 
in  this  part  of  the  Purchase  had  little  to  do  with  the  more 
progressive  portion  of  the  tribe.  They  gathered  them 
selves  together  to  perform  the  ancient  rites  of  their 
fathers.  Indian  drums,  turtle  rattles,  gourd  rattles,  the 
mortar  and  pestle  for  grinding  corn,  the  bark  boxes  for 
storing  hominy  for  winter  use,  the  tomahawk,  the  wampum 
belt,  and  all  other  thing  valued  by  the  Indian,  were  to 
be  found  here  in  constant  use. 

The  ancient  Wyandot  was  as  sensitive  to  the  various 
languages  of  nature  as  is  the  highly  charged  plate  of  the 
photographer  to  the  rays  of  light.  The  beautiful  lines  of 
Bryant  apply  to  the  character  of  the  ancient  Wyandot : 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  59 

"  To  him  who  in  the  love  of  Nature  holds 
Communion  with  her  visible  forms,  she  speaks 
A  various  language." 

Captain  Bull-Head  was  never  at  a  loss  for  good  com 
pany.  The  sky,  the  clouds,  the  wind,  rain,  snow,  ice,  the 
trees,  leaves,  flowers,  the  grass  under  his  feet  were  all 
books  in  which  he  delighted  to  read  as  a  child  delights  in 
Jack  the  Giant-Killer.  He  carried  on  communion  and 
even  conversation  with  the  birds,  his  chickens,  pigs,  the 
wolf,  fox,  and,  indeed,  with  all  Nature,  animate  or  inani 
mate.  And  I  have  often  observed  this  same  trait  in  the 
present  generation  of  Wyandots,  and,  too,  in  Shawnees, 
Delawares,  and  Cherokees.  At  the  sound  of  any  bird  or 
animal,  Captain  Bull-Head  made  instant  reply.  These 
songs  or  cries  often  resemble  some  sentence  of  the  Wyandot 
language.  He  considered  himself  addressed,  and  took  up 
the  conversation  at  once — much  more  readily  than  if  he 
had  been  addressed  by  man. 

One  day  in  winter  the  Captain  went  out  to  get  some 
wood.  His  chickens  were  standing  close  together  under 
some  shrubs,  to  avoid  the  wind.  When  the  Captain  came 
out  the  rooster  flapped  his  wings  and  crowed :  "  Tah-shah'- 
tah-dodhf '-stab."  ~Now  the  Captain  was  dressed  in  true 
Indian  style,  with  blanket  and  leggings  of  buckskin.  This 
sentence  supposed  by  him  to  have  been  used  by  the  rooster 
means  "  Your  legs  are  cold."  He  was  highly  insulted  at 
what  he  imagined  the  rooster  to  have  said  to  him,  for  it 
must  be  remembered  the  ancient  Wyandots  endowed  all 
animals  with  reason,  and  he  believed  the  rooster  was  ridi 
culing  him  because  his  thighs  were  bare. 

"  Yooh-aht' ! ! !  "  exclaimed  the  Captain,  in  a  towering 


60  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

passion.  "  Yooh-aht' ! ! !  Soh-mah'-ah  tah-shah'-tah-doohf  '- 
stall !  "  "Away !  It  is  your  legs  that  are  cold ;  my  legs 
are  not  cold ;  I  have  been  by  the  fire !  "  But  the  Captain 
covered  his  thighs  with  his  blanket  and  hurried  away  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  impudent  rooster. 

At  another  time  the  Captain  was  passing  along  the  road 
with  something  in  a  bag  which  he  had  slung  across  his 
shoulder.  A  haughty  rooster  flew  to  the  top  of  the  fence, 
flapped  his  wings  and  crowed  saucily.  The  Captain  be 
lieved  he  said:  "  Quah'-zhah-tscli56h'-teh-quali."  This 
means  "  You  are  a  peddler,"  or  "  a  man  who  carries  a  bur 
den  on  his  back."  The  Captain  did  not  doubt  for  a 
moment  that  the  rooster  meant  to  taunt  him  for  turning 
peddler,  than  which  no  higher  insult  could  have  been 
given  Captain  Bull-Head.  He  immediately  replied,  in 
great  heat :  "  Yooh-aht' !  Soh-mah'-ah  quah'-zhah- 
tschooh'-teh-quah  ! !  "  "  ~No !  Away  with  you !  I  am  not 
a  peddler !  " 

The  little  valley  in  the  mouth  of  which  the  town  of 
Pomeroy,  Wyandotte  county,  Kansas,  stands,  was  called 
by  the  Wyandots,  Queh'-sah-yohn'-dah,  which  means  "  The 
place  where  the  nettles  grow."  The  Captain  had  friends 
living  there,  and  his  first  visit  in  the  spring  was  to  this 
little  valley.  One  warm  day  in  the  spring  as  he  sat  in  the 
sun  in  his  cabin  door,  his  favorite  rooster  came  near  him 
and  crowed,  and  the  Captain  believed  he  said :  "  Queh'- 
sah-yohn'-dah."  In  great  delight  the  Captain  cried: 
"  Hehn'-deh'-ah-t^hng-dah'-tah-rah  queh'-sah-yohn'-dah.''' 
"Ah,  yes !  You  and  I  will  go  there  to  visit  soon,"  or 
"Ah,  yes !  You  and  I  will  soon  go  there  to  break  bread." 

One  class  of  the  songs  of  the  ancient  Wyandots  consisted 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  61 

of  imaginary  conversations  with  the  various  animals  with 
which  they  were  familiar.  These  songs  could  be  sung 
by  two  persons,  or  more.  Captain  Bull-Head  and  William 
Big- Town  were  famous  singers  of  the  old  Wyandot  songs, 
and  also  the  old  pagan  songs  in  which  their  history  and 
mythology  were  wrapped  for  preservation.  With  these 
two  men  died  these  ancient  songs  of  the  pagan  Wyandots. 
I  have  gathered  the  import  of  some  of  these  mythologic 
songs  as  sung  by  these  two  men  through  persons  who 
were  intimately  acquainted  with  them — George  Wright, 
Matthias  Splitlog  and  his  wife,  Eldredge  H.  Brown,  and 
others.  Mr.  Brown  has  given  me  an  account  of  the  man 
ner  of  their  singing,  which  I  shall  attempt  here  to  relate. 

He  heard  these  songs  at  the  house  of  Captain  Bull-Head, 
for  the  Captain  possessed  the  musical  instruments  neces 
sary  for  accompaniment.  When  Big-Town  came  in  sight 
along  the  path  leading  to  Bull-Head's  home,  immediate 
preparations  were  made  for  his  reception.  A  couch  was 
made  ready,  and  when  he  arrived  he  was  made  to  lie  down, 
"  for,"  said  the  Captain,  "  you  must  be  tired  out  with  so 
long  a  walk.  Lie  here  and  rest  your  lungs,  your  back, 
your  legs.  And  eat  of  this  meat  and  drink  of  this  water. 
Do  this. and  refresh  yourself." 

While  Big-Town  rested  and  refreshed  himself,  the  Cap 
tain  was  engaged  in  putting  his  drums  and  rattles  in 
proper  condition  for  immediate  use.  When  only  the  two 
men  sang,  a  little  drum  the  size  of  a  quart  measure  was 
used ;  and  the  rattle  was  one  made  of  a  small  terrapin,  or 
land  turtle.  If  more  than  the  two  men  were  to  sing,  a 
larger  drum  and  a  larger  rattle  were  used. 

When  Big- Town  had  sufficiently  rested  himself,  he  was 


62 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


given  the  rattle.  This  instrument  he  used  as  a  singing- 
master  uses  a  tuning-fork.  He  rattled  it  close  to  his  ear, 
and  when  the  proper  pitch  had  been  ascertained  the  song 
was  commenced.  The  songs  were  almost  all  arranged  for 
one  person  or  one  party  to  sing,  and  then  to  be  responded 
to  by  the  other  person  or  the  other  party.  Big-Town 
usually  commenced  the  song ;  when  he  had  sung  a  part  the 
response  was  taken  up  by  the  Captain.  Big-Town  accom 
panied  his  part  with  the  rattle  and  the  Captain  his  with 
the  drum.  All  the  mythological  tales  and  legends  were 
thus  arranged  to  be  sung,  and  also  all  the  traditional 
history  of  the  tribe,  as  was  much  of  the  clan  achievement 
in  battle.  Mention  has  been  made  of  songs  concerning 
animals.  Eldredge  H.  Brown  can  remember  that  one  of 
their  songs  commenced  "  Tah-weh'-deh,  tah-weh'-deh-keh- 
heh',"  which  is  "  Hey,  the  old  Otter !  His  time  is  past," 
They  spent  hours,  sometimes  days,  even  weeks,  in 
singing  these  ancient  songs.  As  stated  in  another  place, 
the  only  traditional  stories  and  myths  preserved  are  the 
import  but  not  the  language  of  these  old  songs.  What  a 
loss  to  science  was  their  loss ! 

MATTHIAS    SPLITLOG. 

Matthias  Splitlog  was  the  famous  "  millionaire  Indian." 
His  father  was  a  Cayuga-Seneca — his  mother  a  Wyandot. 
He  married  Eliza  Barnett,  a  very  intelligent  Wyandot 
woman  of  one  of  the  best  families  in  the  tribe.  She  never 
learned  to  speak  English,  and  was  one  of  the  few  Wyandots 
that  I  have  known  that  could  not  speak  enough  English 
to  carry  on  conversation  in  it. 

In  the  year  1882  I  was  Deputy  County  Clerk  of  Wyan- 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  OO 

dotte  county,  Kansas,  and  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be 
able  to  do  official  justice  to  Mr.  Splitlog,  and  thereby 
prevent  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railway  Company  from  ac 
quiring  the  land  now  occupied  by  that  corporation  for 
round-houses  and  switching  purposes,  and  known  as  the 
"  Cypress  Yards,"  for  about  one-tenth  of  its  value.  This 
favor  Mr.  Splitlog  never  forgot ;  he  appreciated  it  as  long 
as  he  lived.  From  that  day  until  his  death,  fourteen 
years  later,  he  was  my  true  and  tried  friend.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  were  well  informed  in  all  the  myths,  legends, 
and  traditions  of  the  Wyandots.  They  have  related  these 
to  me  by  the  hour.  Mr.  Splitlog  was  also  well  informed 
in  the  Seneca  myths  and  legends,  and  he  was  always  careful 
to  explain  to  me  the  difference  between  the  Wyandot  and 
Seneca  versions. 

HIEAM  M.   NOETHEUP. 

The  late  Hiram  M.  Northrup,  the  millionaire  banker, 
of  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  married  a  Wyandot  woman, 
Miss  Margaret  Clarke,  the  grand-daughter  of  Chief  Adam 
Brown.  Miss  Clarke  could  speak  no  English  until  after 
her  marriage.  She  knew  many  of  the  myths  and  legends 
of  the  Wyandots,  but  it  was  seldom  that  she  would  relate 
any  of  them.  Mr.  Northrup  was  particularly  anxious 
that  they  should  be  preserved,  and  at  his  urgent  solicita 
tion  Mrs.  JSTorthrup  sometimes  went  over  some  of  them 
with  me.  But  it  was  in  a  different  way  that  they  were 
helpful  to  me  in  this  work.  They  sought  out  old  Wyandots 
and  brought  them  to  their  home  for  the  purpose  of  having 
them  relate  to  me  the  myths  and  traditions.  I  have  every 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

reason  to  be  very  grateful  to  them  for  their  assistance  in 
the  collection  of  these  legends. 

MRS.   LUCY  B.  ARMSTRONG. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Russel  Bigelow,  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Methodism  in  Ohio,  and  for  some  time  in 
charge  of  the  Wyandot  Mission  at  Upper  Sandusky.  She 
married  John  Maclntyre  Armstrong,  a  Wyandot  of  not 
more  than  one-quarter  blood,  a  man  of  intelligence,  educa 
tion,  and  worth.  He  was  a  religious  enthusiast,  and  un 
popular  in  his  tribe,  but  he  was  conscientious  in  his  acts. 
He  was  a  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Church  for 
many  years.  He  translated  many  Methodist  hymns  from 
the  English  into  the  Wyandot  language;  and  some  of  the 
earliest  efforts  to  reduce  the  Wyandot  tongue  to  a  written 
form  were  his,  though  he  accomplished  nothing  in  this 
field  that  was  permanent.  His  father  was  a  white  man 
who  had  been  captured  when  very  young,  by  the  Wyandots, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Allegheny  river.  He  was  adopted  into 
the  tribe,  and  grew  up  an  Indian  in  habit  and  nature. 
He  married  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Isaac  Zane,  and  John 
Maclntyre  was  their  second  son,  and  could  speak  no  Eng 
lish  until  he  learned  it  at  the  Mission. 

From  her  husband  and  from  many  other  Wyandots 
Mrs.  Armstrong  heard  the  myths  and  traditions  of  the 
Wyandots.  She  was  a  widow  for  forty  years  and  an  esti 
mable  woman.  She  lived  in  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  and  I 
was  well  acquainted  with  her  for  fifteen  years.  She  wae 
of  some  assistance  to  me  in  the  study  of  the  myths  of  the 
Wyandots.  She  always  wanted  to  find  some  analogy  to 
Christianity  in  the  religious  legends. 


WYAtfDOT    FOLK-LORE  65 

TV 

MRS.  SARAH  DAGNETT. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Dagnett  rendered  me  much  assistance  in 
the  matter  of  the  Wyandot  language  in  which  the  myths 
were  told.  When  I  could  find  no  explanation  of  a  Wy 
andot  term  anywhere  else,  I  always  referred  it  to  her. 
If  there  was  enough  remembrance  of  the  term  yet  remain 
ing  in  the  tribe  to  furnish  an  explanation,  she  would  get 
it  for  me.  She  is  a  Wyandot  and  a  woman  of  great  intelli 
gence,  and  has  traveled  extensively  and  is  well  informed. 

ELDREDGE  H.  BROWN. 

Mr.  Brown  is  a  descendant  of  Chief  Adam  Brown,  and 
a  man  of  much  worth  and  integrity.  He  is  the  only 
Wyandot  living  who  understands  the  old  Wyandot  lan 
guage.  He  has  related  some  myths  to  me,  and  has  aided 
me  in  many  ways. 

REV.    SMITH   NICHOLS. 

Mr.  Nichols  is  a  minister  of  the  denomination  of 
Friends.  He  is  a  very  conscientious  man,  and  a  devout 
Christian.  He  has  been  of  much  service  to  me  in  this 
work. 

HON.    SILAS   ARMSTRONG. 

Mr.  Armstrong  aided  me  in  many  ways  in  my  work. 
He  is  a  man  of  fine  mind,  and  great  force  of  character. 
He  has  been  employed  by  the  Government  for  several 
years, 

MR.   AND  MRS.   ALFRED  MUDEATER. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alfred  Mudeater  are  well  informed  Wy- 
andots,  and  were  always  anxious  to  assist  me.  I  am  undei 
obligations  to  them  for  many  favors. 

—  5 


66 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


I  have  here  briefly  indicated  the  principal  sources  from 
which  I  procured  the  myths  and  traditions  of  the  Wyandots 
as  they  are  written  herein.  I  may  have  misunderstood 
some  things.  In  the  recording  I  may  have  perverted  and 
distorted  other  things.  It  would  be  remarkable  if  I 
had  not  erred  in  some  part  of  the  work.  Perfection 
is  not  claimed.  But  I  have  industriously  sought  to  pre 
serve  these  ancient  myths  and  legends  in  the  interests  of 
science.  I  may  add  that  no  other  forms  of  these  legends 
and  myths  can  ever  be  obtained,  for,  with  one  exception, 
those  pretending  to  recite  any  form  of  them  are  dead, 
and  gone  to  the  Land  of  the  Little  People. 


THE    STORIES 


I.— THE  WOMAN  WHO  FELL  FKOM  HEAVEN. 

The  people  lived  in  heaven.  They  were  Wyandots. 
The  Head  Man's  name  was  the  Big  Chief,  or  the  Mighty 
Ruler.  He  had  a  very  beautiful  daughter.  She  became 
sick.  The  medicine  man  came.  She  could  not  be  cured 
by  his  "  medicine."  He  said,  "  Dig  up  the  wild  apple 
tree;  what  will  cure  her  she  can  pluck  from  among  its 
roots."  This  apple  tree  stood  near  the  door  of  the  Lodge  of 
the  Mighty  Ruler. 

The  medicine  man  advised  that  while  they  were  digging 
up  the  wild  apple  tree  they  should  bring  the  young  woman 
and  lay  .her  down  upon  the  ground  under  its  branches,  so 
that  she  might  see  down  where  the  men  were  at  work,1  and 
the  more  quickly  pluck  away  the  "  medicine  "  when  it 
should  be  reached. 

When  they  had  dug  there  for  awhile,  the  tree  and  the 
ground  all  about  it  suddenly  sank  down,  fell  through  and 
disappeared.  The  lap,  or  tree-top,  caught  and  carried  down 
the  young  woman.  Tree  and  woman  disappeared,  and  the 
rent  or  broken  world,  and  the  rent  earth  was  closed  over 
both  of  them. 

This  point  where  the  tree  sank  down  through  heaven  is 

1  Some  versions  say  women  were  doing  the  digging ;  others  use  the  word  "  people." 

(67) 


68  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

called  in  the  Wjandot  mythology,  the  point  of  breaking 
through.  In  some  versions  of  this  account  it  is  called  the 
"  Jumping-off  Place  " ;  for  the  woman  is  represented  as 
jumping  or  springing  from  the  sky.  The  same  Wyandot 
term  is  used,  though,  in  all  versions. 

Underneath,  in  the  lower  world,  was  only  water — the 
Great  Water.  Two  Swans  were  swimming  about  there. 
These  Swans  saw  the  young  woman  falling  from  heaven. 
Some  accounts  say  that  a  mighty  peal  of  thunder,  the  first 
ever  heard  in  these  lower  regions,  broke  over  the  waters, 
and  startled  all  the  Swimmers.  On  looking  up,  the  Swans1 
beheld  the  woman  standing  in  the  rent  heavens,  clad  in 
flames  of  bright  lightning.  She  was  taller  than  the  highest 
tree.  Thus  was  she  accompanied  in  her  fall  from  heaven 
by  Heh'-noh,  the  Thunder  God  of  the  Wyandots. 

One  of  the  Swans  said : 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  this  Woman  ?  " 

The  other  Swan  replied : 

"  We  must  receive  her  on  our  backs." 

Then  they  threw  their  bodies  together,  side  by  side,  and 
she  fell  upon  them. 

The  swan  that  had  first  spoken  said : 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  this  woman  ?  We  cannot  for 
ever  bear  her  up." 

To  this  question  the  other  Swan  replied : 

"  We  must  call  a  Council  of  all  the  Swimmers  and  all 
the  Water  Tribes." 

This  they  did.     Each  Animal  came  upon  special  invi- 

1  The  Wyandot  word  for  swan  is  used  in  this  place,  but  the  description  of  the  birds 
would  seem  to  indicate  gulls,  or  geese.  They  are  described  as  "  flat-backed  birds," 
half-a-tree  tall;  i.  «.,  very  large. 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  69 

tation.  The  Big  Turtle  came  by  special  invitation  to  pre 
side  over  the  Great  Council. 

Much  discussion  was  had  by  the  Great  Council.  But  it 
seemed  for  a  long  time  that  the  deliberations  would  be 
fruitless.  No  plan  for  the  disposition  of  the  Woman  could 
be  agreed  upon.  When  the  Great  Council  was  about  to 
adjourn  without  coming  to  a  conclusion,  the  Big  Turtle 
said: 

"  If  you  can  get  a  little  of  the  Earth,  which,  with  the 
Woman  and  the  tree,  fell  down  from  heaven,  I  will  hold  it." 

So  the  Animals  took  it  by  turns  to  try  to  get  the  Earth. 
They  dived  down  into  the  deep  where  the  tree  had  fallen. 
But  they  could  get  none  of  the  Earth,  which,  so  the  Wyan- 
dots  claim,  shone  with  a  brilliant  light  to  guide  them.  Tn 
this  search  many  of  the  Animals  were  drowned,  and  came 
to  the  surface  dead.  When  it  seemed  that  none  of  the 
Earth  could  be  obtained,  the  Toad  volunteered  to  go  down 
and  try  and  see  what  success  she  might  have. 

The  Toad  was  gone  a  long  time.  The  Great  Council 
despaired  of  her  coming  back  again.  Finally  she  came  up, 
with  her  mouth  full  of  the  Earth ;  but  she  was  dead  when 
she  reached  the  surface. 

There  was  very  little  of  the  Earth — too  little,  it  was 
supposed — and  the  Great  Council  was  discouraged.  But 
the  Little  Turtle  urged  that  it  be  used.  She  rubbed  it  care 
fully  about  the  edges  of  the  Big  Turtle's  shell,  and  from 
this  small  amount  soon  there  was  the  Great  Island  upon 
the  Big  Turtle's  back. 

The  Woman  was  removed  from  the  backs  of  the  Swans 
to  the  Great  Island,  which  was,  from  that  time,  her  home. 

The  Toad  was  the  only  Swimmer  that  could  get  the 


70 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


Earth.  This  is  why  the  Toad  has  always  been  called  Mah'- 
shooh-tah'-ah — Our  Grandmother — by  the  Wyandots.  The 
Toad  is  held  in  reverence  by  the  Wyandots,  and  none  of 
them  will  harm  her,  to  this  day. 

II.— THE  GREAT  ISLAND. 

The  Island  grew  to  be  a  Great  Land  —  all  of  North 
America,  which  to  the  AVyandots  was  all  the  land  of  the 
earth.  The  Wyandot  name  for  the  Great  Island  means, 
literally,  "  The  land  which  stands  up  from  the  Great 
Water  " ;  but  it  is  correctly  rendered  "  The  Great  Island." 
It  rests  yet  on  the  back  of  the  Big  Turtle.  He  stands  deep 
aown  in  the  Great  Water,  in  which  the  Swans  were  swim 
ming  when  they  saw  the  Woman  fall  from  heaven.  Some 
times  he  becomes  weary  of  remaining  so  long  in  one  posi 
tion.  Then  he  shifts  his  weight  and  moves  (changes)  his 
feet.  And  then  the  Great  Island  trembles,  and  the  Wyan 
dots  cry  out,  "  He  moves  the  earth !  He  moves  the  earth !  " 

Thus  does  the  Wyandot  account  for  the  earthquake. 

III.— THE  LITTLE  TURTLE  IN  THE  SKY,  OR 
THE  CREATION  OF  THE  SUN,  MOON,  AND 
STARS. 

When  the  Great  Island  was  made  on  the  Big  Turtle's 
back  there  was  no  sun,  and  no  moon,  and  no  stars.  The 
Woman  could  not  see  well  by  the  "  Snow  Light."  A  Great 
Council  was  called  to  see  what  should  be  done  for  a  light 
for  the  Woman. 

After  a  long  time  spent  in  deliberation  to  no  purpose, 


WYANDOT  FOLK-LOBE"  71 . 

the  Council  was  about  to  disperse  and  let  the  world  con 
tinue  in  darkness.  And  now  the  Little  Turtle  said : 

"  Let  me  go  up  to  the  sky ;  I  will  put  a  light  there  for  the 
Woman." 

It  was  agreed  that  the  Little  Turtle  might  go  into  the 
sky.  A  great  Cloud  was  called  by  the  Council.  The  Cloud 
was  full  of  Thunder  and  Lightning.  It  rolled  over  the 
Great  Water.  When  it  came  where  the  Council  was  in 
session,  it  was  seen  to  be  full  of  bushes,  trees,  streams, 
lakes  and  ponds.  The  Little  Turtle  got  into  these  streams 
and  was  soon  carried  into  the  sky,  which  the  Wyandots  be 
lieved  to  be  solid,  and  much  like  the  earth  at  the  present 
time.  Here  the  Little  Turtle  took  some  of  the  Lightning 
and  kindled  a  great  flame,,  which  stood  still  in  the  sky.  But 
it  did  not  light  all  the  Great  Island,  while  in  that  part  of 
it  where  the  Woman  lived  the  heat  was  intolerable. 

The. Sun  as  made  by  the  Little  Turtle  was  not  satisfac 
tory.  Another  Council  was  called.  The  Little  Turtle 
came  in  the  Cloud.  At  this  Council  it  was  determined 
to  give  the  Sun  life  and  a  spirit,  so  that  it  could  "  run  about 
the  sky."  The  Mud  Turtle  was  directed  to  dig  a  hole 
clear  through  the  earth  (the  Great  Island),  so  that  the  Sun 
could  go  through  the  sky  by  day,  and  then,  through  the  hole 
in  the  earth,  back  to  the  east  by  night.  This  the  Mud 
Turtle  successfully  did.  But  it  seems  that  the  Sun  often 
loitered  in  this  subterranean  passage-way,  and  remained 
there  for  long  periods.  The  world  was  left  in  total  dark 
ness  at  these  times.  It  was  resolved  to  call  a  third  Great 
Council  to  deliberate  upon  the  matter,  and  to  chide  the  Sun. 

To  this  third  Council  came  the  Sun,  the  Little  Turtle, 
and  the  other  Animals.  The  Council  decreed  that  the 


72  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

Little  Turtle  should  make  the  Sun  a  wife,  and  that  she 
should  shine  while  he  was  going  back  to  the  east  through 
the  subterreanean  passage-way  made  by  the  Mud  Turtle. 
The  Little  Turtle  made  the  Moon  for  a  wife  for  the  Sun. 
Many  children  were  born  to  them,  and  these  are  the  Stars 
that  "  run  about  the  sky,"  as  the  Wyandots  call  the  stars 
that  move  like  the  sun  and  moon. 

After  a  time  the  Sun  was  displeased  with  his  wife,  the 
Moon.  He  drew  her  into  the  subterranean  passage-way, 
and  would  have  destroyed  her  there  if  the  Little  Turtle 
had  not  come  and  rescued  her.  He  robbed  her  of  all  her 
heat  and  much  of  her  light,  and  so  maimed  her  that  she 
could  not  keep  pace  with  him  in  the  sky.  The  New  Moon 
represents  all  that  was  left  of  the  Sun's  wife  when  the  Lit 
tle  Turtle  rescued  her  from  her  husband's  wrath.  The 
Little  Turtle  cured  her  to  that*  degree  that  she  regained 
gradually  her  original  form;  when,  however,  she  had  at 
tained  this,  she  immediately  sickened  from  grief  because 
of  her  husband's  inattention  and  neglect,  and  pined  away, 
diminishing  daily  until  she  altogether  disappeared.  When 
next  seen  she  was  again  of  the  same  size  and  form  as  when 
rescued  by  the  Little  Turtle ;  then  she  increased  gradually, 
animated  with  the  hope  that  when  she  had  reached  her 
former  fullness  she  could  recover  her  husband's  favor. 
Failing  in  this,  she  again  wasted  away ;  and  this  has  been 
repeated  over  and  over  to  this  day ;  and  it  always  will  be 
until  the  end  of  time.  To  assist  her  in  lighting  the  earth 
at  night  the  Little  Turtle  made  many  lights  and  fastened 
them  to  the  sky;  these  are  the  fixed  stars  that  have  no 
course,  and  which  do  not  "  run  about  the  sky."  Sometimes 


AVYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  73 

they  fall  off  the  sky;  thus  does  the  Wyandot  account  for 
the  meteors  or  "  shooting  stars." 

From  her  labors  in  the  heavens  and  the  important  func 
tions  which  the  Little  Turtle  exercised,  she  was  called 
Wah-trohn'-ydh-noh'-neh,  "  The  Keeper  of  the  Heavens," 
or  "  She  who  takes  care  of  the  Sky."  This  is  still  a  name 
for  women  in  the  Little  Turtle  Clan  of  the  Wyandots,  and 
perhaps  the  oldest  name  belonging  to  this  Clan.  Mrs. 
iSTaney  Stannard,  on  the  Wyandot  Reservation,  Indian  Ter 
ritory,  is  of  the  Little  Turtle  Clan,  and  is  so  named. 

The  Wyandots  believe  the  comet  is  the  cloud  in  which 
the  Little  Turtle  went  up  to  the  sky,  burnished  and  bright 
ened  by  the  Little  Turtle  with  rays  taken  from  the  mid 
day  sun."  In  this  she  rides  through  the  heavens  to  perform 
her  duties.  About  1882  there  was  a  large  comet,  visible  in 
Kansas  City,  Kansas.  It  could  be  seen  only  in  the  early 
morning.  On  my  way  to  my  office  very  early  one  morning, 
late  in  the  fall,  I  met  Matthias  Splitlog.  From  where  we 
stood  we  had  a  splendid  view  of  the  comet.  "  See!  "  said 
Mr.  Splitlog,  "  there  is  the  chariot  of  our  Grandmother, 
the  Little  Turtle."  Then  he  told  me  why  it  was  so  called. 

IV.— THE  TWINS  BORK 

The  Great  Island  was  the  Woman's  home.  It  was  not 
then  so  large  as  it  afterwards  was  made.  The  Woman 
went  all  about  the  Great  Island.  She  was  very  sad.  But 
in  her  wanderings  she  found  a  Lodge,  and,  living  in  it,  an 
old  woman.  She  called  the  old  woman  Sho6h"-tah'-ah — 
"  her  Grandmother."  In  the  Wyandot  mythology  the  point 
where  the  Lodge  of  the  old  woman  stood  is  called  by  a  Wy- 


74  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

andot  word  which  means  "  The  place  where  the  Woman 
that  fell  from  heaven  met  (or  found)  her  Grandmother.'"' 
The  Woman  lived  with  her  Grandmother.  She  is  well 
now,  her  sickness  having  disappeared.  To  her  were  born 
the  Two  Children — The  Brothers — The  Twins.  Of  these 
Children,  one  was  Good — the  other  Bad.  Their  Grand 
father,  the  Mighty  Ruler,  directed  how  the  Twins  should 
be  named.  The  Good  One  was  named  Tseh'-stah — i.  e., 
Made  of  Fire,  or  the  Man  who  was  made  of  Fire.  The  Bad 
One  was  named  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh — i.  e.,  Made  of  Flint, 
or  The  Man  who  was  made  of  Flint. 

V.— THE   GREAT   ISLAND   ENLARGED. 

The  Twins  grew  to  manhood  after  awhile.  Tah'-weh- 
skah'-reh  did  evil  continually.  Tseh'-stah  was  unwilling  to 
resist  his  brother  continuously,  although  when  he  chose  to 
do  so  he  could  overcome  him.  That  all  cause  for  the  ac 
tions  of  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  might  be  removed,  the  brothers 
agreed  to  enlarge  the  Great  Island.  They  successfully  did 
this.  The  land  in  the  East  was  the  land  of  Tseh'-stah ;  that 
in  the  West  belonged  to  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh.  But  the  land 
was  desolate — a  solitude.  Besides  the  Woman  and  the  Two 
children,  only  the  Animals  lived  upon  it. 

VL— THE    MODIFICATION    OF    THE    GREAT 
ISLAND. 

When  the  Twins  had  finished  enlarging  the  Great  Island 
they  made  a  further  agreement  to  prepare  it  for  the  habita 
tion  of  man,  and  other  animals  than  those  first  found  here, 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  75 

Each  brother  was  to  go  through  his  own  land.1  He 
was  to  make  his  realm  to  conform  in  surface,  animals, 
birds,  streams,  lakes,  plants,  etc.,  to  his  own  conceptions  of 
utility  and  beauty.  The  works  of  each  were  to  be  subject 
to  the  modification  of  the  other,  but  neither  was  to  abso 
lutely  change  the  character  of  any  work  of  the  other,  nor 
was  he  to  totally  destroy  it. 

Each  brother  now  went  his  way,  and  did  that  which 
was  proper  in  his  own  eyes.  They  were  engaged  in  this 
work  for  untold  ages.  When  their  works  were  finished., 
they  met  again  as  they  had  agreed. 

When  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  inspected  the  works  of  Tseh'- 
stah  he  believed  they  were  much  too  good.  Accordingly, 
he  diminished  their  good  qualities  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power. 

The  animals,  birds  and  fishes  good  for  food  are  the  gifts 
of  Tseh'-stlih.  They,  and  all  other  animals,  were  made 
gentle,  harmless.  Tooth  nor  claw  was  ever  made  to  be 
turned  upon  the  Wyandot;  no  animal  thirsted  for  his 
blood.  In  lieu  of  their  gentle  natures,  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh 
made  them  to  have  wild  and  fierce  dispositions.  He  fright 
ened  them  until  they  fled  from  the  light  of  day  and  only 
left  their  lairs  at  night.  The  gentle  undulations  of  the 
park-like  woods  were  changed  to  rough  hills  and  endless 
mountain  ranges ;  and  rocks,  thorns,  bushes,  briers  and 
brambles  were  scattered  broadcast  to  plague  the  Indian. 
He  sprinkled  his  own  blood  over  the  land,  and  each  drop  of 
it  made  a  ragged  flint-stone  which  lay  in  wait  to  rend  and 

1  Whether  the  modern  opinion  that  the  land  was  divided  into  Eastern  and  Western 
divisions  is  correct  or  not,  we  cannot  now  tell.  The  descriptions  of  the  divisions  would 
seein  to  Indicate  that  they  were  in  fact  North  and  South  divisions.  I  have  followed 
what  the  Wyandots  told  me, 


76  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

cut  the  Indian's  foot.  Water  would  not  drown,  but  Tah'- 
weh-skah'-reh  gave  it  an  evil  spirit  to  make  it  take  the  life 
of  the  Indian.  Evil  spirits  were  placed  at  many  water 
falls  to  drag  down  and  destroy  Wyandots.  The  maple  tree 
furnished  a  pure  syrup,  but  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  poured 
water  over  the  tree  and  reduced  its  sweetness  to  what  we 
find  it  at  this  day.  Tseh'-stah  made  the  corn  plant.  It 
grew  without  cultivation,  and  a  hundred  ears  were  found 
upon  a  single  stalk.  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  made  it  difficult 
to  raise,  and  but  a  few  ears  were  permitted  to  grow  on  one 
stalk.  The  bean-pod  grew  upon  a  tree,  and  was  as  long  as 
the  Indian's  arm ;  it  was  filled  with  beans  as  large  as  the 
turkey's  egg,  and  which  were  richer  than  bear's  fat.  The 
tree  was  dwarfed  to  a  helpless  vine,  and  the  pod  was  so  re 
duced  that  it  was  no  longer  than  the  Indian's  finger.  But 
the  wrath  of  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  rose  into  fury  when  he  be 
held  the  rivers  as  made  by  Tseh'-stah.  They  were  made 
with  two  currents,  flowing  in  opposite  directions,  one  by 
each  bank,  so  that  the  Indian  could  go  either  up  or  down 
the  streams  without  the  labor  of  paddling  his  canoe.  Tah'- 
weh-skah'-reh  thrust  his  big  hand  into  the  river  and  gave 
the  waters  a  great  swish  or  splash  and  mixed  them,  forcing 
both  currents  into  only  one,  and  this  he  made  to  run  al 
ways  in  but  one  direction. 

Tseh'-stah  found  the  works  of  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  much 
too  large  and  very  bad.  Bare  mountains  of  rock  pierced 
the  sky.  Endless  swamps  and  quagmires  were  spread 
abroad.  Huge  beasts,  reptiles,  birds  and  insects  were  at 
every  point  to  terrify  and  destroy  the  Indian.  The  North 
Wind  stood  guardian  of  the  land,  and  with  snows  and  bit 
ter  blasts  swept  this  western  world.  Icicles  miles  and  miles 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


77 


in  length  hung  from  the  ragged  cliffs.  Myriads  and  mil 
lions  of  mosquitoes,  each  as  large  as  the  pheasant,  swarmed 
up  from  the  fetid  marshes  of  the  South.  Nothing  was 
Good — everything  was  Bad.  All  the  works  of  Tah'-weh- 
skah'-reh  were  modified  and  their  evil  qualities  reduced  to 
the  utmost  degree  to  which  he  could  go  by  Tseh'-stah.  But 
whatever  of  evil  there  is  in  this  world  comes  from  Tah'- 
weh-skah'-reh  and  his  wicked  works. 

The  North  Wind  is  still  a  wicked  deity  of  the  Wyandots. 

VII.—  THE  DEER  AND  THE  RAINBOW,  OK  HOW 
THE  ANIMALS  GOT  INTO  THE  SKY. 

The  Animals  were  greatly  distressed  and  much  offended 
by  the  works  of  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh.  They  saw  how  for 
tunate  was  the  Little  Turtle,  who-  spent  most  of  her  time 
"  Keeping  the  Heavens."  She  always  came,  to  attend  the 
Great  Council,  in  the  Black  Cloud  in  which  were  the 
springs,  ponds,  streams  and  lakes. 

One  day  the  Deer  said  to  the  Rainbow : 

"  Carry  me  up  to  the  sky.    I  must  see  the  Little  Turtle." 

The  Rainbow  did  not  wish  to  comply  with  the  request  of 
the  Deer  at  that  time,  but  wished  to  consult  the  Thunder 
God  about  the  matter,  and  so  replied  : 

"  Come  to  me  in  the  winter  when  I  rest  on  the  mountain 
by  the  lake.  Then  I  will  take  you  up  to  the  house  of  the 
Little  Turtle." 

The  Deer  looked  and  waited  all  winter  for  the  Rainbow ; 
but  the  Rainbow  did  not  come.  When  the  Rainbow  came, 
in  the  summer,  the  Deer  said : 


78 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


"  I  waited  for  you  all  winter,  on  the  mountain  by  the 
lake ;  you  did  not  come.  Why  did  you  deceive  me  ?  " 

Then  the  Rainbow  said : 

"  When  you  see  me  in  the  Fog,  over  the  lake,  come  to 
me ;  then  you  can  go  up.  I  will  carry  you  up  to  the  house 
of  the  Little  Turtle  in  the  sky." 

One  day  the  Fog  rolled  in  thick  banks  and  heavy  masses, 
over  the  lake.  The  Deer  stood  on  the  hill  by  the  lake,  wait 
ing  and  looking  for  the  Eainbow.  When  the  Rainbow 
threw  the  beautiful  arch  from  the  lake  to  the  hill,  a  very 
white  and  shining  light  flashed  and  shone  about  the  Deer. 
A  straight  path,  with  all  the  colors  of  the  Rainbow,  lay 
before  the  Deer;  it  led  through  a  strange  forest.  The 
Rainbow  said: 

"  Follow  the  beautiful  path  through  the  strange  woods." 

This  the  Deer  did.  The  beautiful  way  led  the  Deer  to 
the  house  of  the  Little  Turtle,  in  the  sky.  And  the  Deer 
went  about  the  sky  everywhere. 

When  the  Great  Council  met,  the  Bear  said : 

"  The  Deer  is  not  yet  come  to  the  Council ;  where  is  the 
Deer?" 

Then  the  Hawk  flew  all  about  to  look  for  the  Deer ;  but 
the  Hawk  could  not  find  the  Deer  in  the  air.  Then  the 
Wolf  looked  in  all  the  woods;  but  the  Deer  could  not  be 
found  in  the  woods  anywhere. 

When  the  Little  Turtle  came,  in  the  Black  Cloud,  in 
which  were  the  streams,  the  lakes  and  the  ponds,  the  Bear 
said: 

"  The  Deer  is  not  yet  come  to  the  Council;  where  is  the 
Deer?  There  can  be  no  council  without  the  Deer." 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  79 

The  Little  Turtle  replied : 

"  The  Deer  is  in  the  sky.  The  Rainbow  made  a  beauti 
ful  pathway  of  all  her  colors  for  the  Deer  to  come  up  by." 

The  Council  looked  up  to  the  sky  and  saw  the  Deer  run 
ning  about  there.  Then  the  Little  Turtle  showed  to  the 
Council  the  beautiful  pathway  made  for  the  Deer  by  the 
Rainbow.  All  the  Animals  except  the  Mud  Turtle  went 
along  the  beautiful  way,  which  led  them  up  into  the  sky. 
They  remain  there  to  this  day.  They  may  often  be  seen, 
flying  or  running  about  the  sky. 

From  this  myth,  the  Deer  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as 
Deh'-hehn-yahn'-teh — "  The  Rainbow/7  or  more  properly, 
"  The  path  of  many  colors  made  for  the  Deer  by  the  Rain 
bow."  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  names  for  men  in  the  list 
of  names  belonging  to  the  Deer  Clan.  It  is  one  of  the 
names  of  the  writer. 

•VIIL—  PEOPLE  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GREAT 
ISLAKD. 

When  the  Animals  went  into  the  sky,  the  world  was  in 
despair.  The  Mountains  shrieked  and  the  Earth  groaned 
continually.  The  Rivers  and  the  Great  Water  rocked  to 
and  fro  in  their  beds,  and  all  the  beasts  cried  aloud  for 
their  Mothers,  the  Animals.  The  Trees  wept  tears  of  blood 
and  the  Pour  Winds  rent  one  another  in  madness  and 
wrath. 

Tseh'-stah  and  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  met  to  devise  a  plan 
to  people  the  Great  Island.  The  place  where  this  meeting 
was  held  (it  is  called  a  Council,  in  the  Wyandot)  is  called 
the  Point  of  Separation ;  for  the  Wyandots  say  it  was  held 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 

on  the  line  separating  the  land  of  the  Good  Brother  from 
the  land  of  the  Bad  One.  The  Wyandots  came  afterwards 
to  believe  that  the  Mississippi  river  was  this  line.  The 
descriptions  given  by  the  Wyandots  would  seem  to  point  to 
Northern  and  Southern  divisions  instead  of  Eastern  and 
Western.  I  have  followed  the  Wyandots  in  this  matter, 
although  it  seems  that  they  were  in  error  as  to  what  the 
ancient  belief  actually  was  upon  this  subject. 

The  agreement  as  finally  made  between  the  Twins  pro 
vided  that  they  should  bring  people  to  the  Great  Island 
from  the  land  of  the  Mighty  Ruler  in  heaven.  Each  was 
to  people  his  own  land,  and  rule  over  it  without  interfer 
ence  from  the  other. 

Tseh'-stah  brought  to  his  land  Wyandots  only. 

Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  brought  with  him  many  kinds  of  peo 
ple,  some  good  and  some  bad.  Some  accounts  say  that  the 
Brothers  created  these  people  outright. 

The  people  of  each  Brother  multiplied.  In  time  they 
became  many  peoples. 

IX.— THE  FIRST  WAR  AND  THE  FIRST  WORKS 
OF  THE  GREAT  ISLAND  DESTROYED. 

The  ancient  compact  between  the  brothers  was  contin 
ually  violated  by  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  and  his  people.  The 
result  was  a  war  between  the  brothers  and  their  respective 
peoples. 

This  war  lasted  many  ages.  So  fierce  and  devastating 
was  it  that  all  the  works  made  by  the  brothers,  in  the  be 
ginning  was  destroyed.  The  Good  Brother  was  so  closely 
pressed  t>y  the  Bad  Brother  that  he  made  the  Little  People 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


81 


to  assist  him  in  his  warfare  against  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  and 
his  people.  By  their  aid  Tseh'-stah  overcame  his  wicked 
brother  and  his  followers.  Tseh'-stah  pursued  Tah'-weh- 
skah'-reh  when  he  fled  into  his  own  dominions.  The  for 
mer  was  armed  with  the  horns  of  a  deer;  the  latter  with 
the  flowering  branch  which  he  had  torn  from  the  wild  apple 
tree,  which  fell  down  from  heaven  with  his  Mother.  When 
Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  entered  his  own  land  in  his  flight  from 
his  victorious  brother,  he  was  bleeding  from  many  wounds 
inflicted  by  the  horns  of  the  deer  in  his  brother's  hands. 
Where  this  blood  fell  upon  the  ground  it  was  congealed 
into  flint-stones  as  sharp  as  knives,  to  hinder  the  pursuit  of 
Tseh'-stah.  But  all  his  resources  availed  Tah'-weh-skah'- 
reh  nothing.  He  was  beaten  down  to  the  earth  and  slain 
with  the  horns  by  Tseh'-stah,  his  brother. 

X.— THE    RE-CREATION    BY    TSEH-STAH    OF 
THE  WORKS  OF  THE  GREAT  ISLAND. 

The  war  had  desolated  the  Great  Island.  This  destruc 
tion  was  caused  by  the  use  of  fire  by  Tseh'-stah  and  of  the 
use  of  the  North  Wind  by  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh.  No  means 
of  subsistence  were  left.  To  preserve  his  people  until  he 
could  re-create  the  destroyed  works  of  the  Great  Island, 
Tseh'-stah  built  the  Yooh'-wah-tah'-yoh,  or  great  under 
ground  City  or  subterreanean  Dwelling,  far  to  the  north 
of  Montreal's  present  site.  Into  this  he  led  his  people,  and 
then  went  forth  to  his  work  of  reconstruction.  Here  the 
people  were  in  a  torpid  state,  like  turtles  and  toads  and 
snakes  in  winter.  They  were  lying  about  the  City  in  all 
positions,  and  they  retained  only  a  partial  consciousness. 

—  6 


82  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

The  Woman  who  fell  down  from  heaven  ruled  over  them 
with  her  fiery  torch  given  by  Heh-noh,  the  Thunder  God. 

In  making  these  things  anew,  Tseh'-stah  could  only  re 
produce  them  as  they  were  before  their  destruction  in  the 
war,  and  as  they  had  been  left  by  the  modifications  of  him 
self  and  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh.  This  work  required  an  im 
mense  length  of  time.  After  ages  had  elapsed,  Tseh'-stah 
came  back  to  the  Yooh'-wah-tah'-yoh.  He  said  the  work 
was  done,  and  that  it  was  yet  too  new  for  use.  They  could 
not  go  out  until  the  Earth  was  ripened  by  the  Sun. 

From  the  point  in  the  Yooh'-wah-tah'-yoh  where  the 
Wyandots  were  a  glimmering  of  light  could  be  seen,  and 
Tseh'-stah  often  went  to  this  small  opening  to  observe  the 
progress  of  the  process  of  ripening  which  the  world  was 
undergoing.  His  uniform  report  when  he  returned  from 
these  inspections  was  that  the  world  was  yet  too  new  for 
use. 

After  the  Wyandots  had  waited  many  ages  here,  the 
world  was  ready  for  their  use  again.  One  day  in  spring 
Tseh'-stah  went  forth  from  the  Yooh'-wah-tah'-yoh  by  the 
small  opening.  He  looked  about  the  whole  of  the  Great  Isl 
and.  He  saw  it  was  indeed  ready  to  receive  the  people  for 
whom  it  had  been  created,  and  for  whom  all  the  works  of 
Nature  cried  out  both  day  and  night.  He  returned  to  the 
Yooh'-wah-tah'-yoh  where  sat  the  Woman  who  fell  down 
from  heaven  with  her  torch  of  fire  given  by  Heh'-noh,  the 
Thunder  God.  He  announced  to  his  Mother  that  the 
world  cried  aloud  for  her  children.  She  said  to  him: 
"  My  son,  lead  them  forth  in  the  Order  of  Precedence  and 
Encampment.  They  shall  come  to  me  on  their  journey  to 
the  land  of  the  Little  People." 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


83 


Then  Tseh'-stah  caused  the  Earth  to  quake  and  to  rock 
to  its  foundation.  Heh'-noh  shook  the  heavens  and  rolled 
over  the  Great  Waters  with  his  Thunder.  All  the  sky 
flamed  with  his  fiery  darts.  The  great  Yooh'-wah-tah'-yoh 
was  rent  asunder.  A  nation  stood  marshaled  to  go  forth. 
They  marched  to  the  waiting  world.  The  hills,  the  waters, 
the  beasts,  the  trees,  the  birds  and  the  fishes  cried  out  with 
welcome  to  the  nation  horn  of  the  earth  in  a  day.  They 
found  the  earth  decked  with  flowers,  and  songs  of  joy 
poured  out  from  the  forests  filled  with  happy  birds. 

They  found  some  of  the  people  of  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh 
still  living  on  the  Great  Island.  Their  preservation  is  not 
accounted  for. 

Here  ends  the  Song  of  the  Creation,  as  sung  by  Captain 
Bull-Head  and  William  Big-Town. 


XI.— THE  FLYING  HEADS. 

It  has  been  said  that  stories  of  the  Flying  Heads 
seem  to  be  exclusively  of  Tuscarora  origin.  The  supposi 
tion  that  the  myths  of  these  monsters  are,  or  ever  were, 
confined  exclusively  to  the  Tuscarora  people,  is  certainly 
erroneous.  The  Wyandots  had  many  myths  concerning 
the  Flying  Heads.  Their  origin  is  also  accounted  for  in 
the  Wyandot  myths. 

The  origin  of  the  Flying  Heads  is  ascribed  to  two  very 
different  sources  by  the  Wyandot  mythology,  as  recited  at 
this  time.  Which  is  the  true  and  ancient  myth  I  cannot 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 

say.  The  first  account  says  that  they  were  made  by  Tah'- 
weh-skah'-reh  to  plague  Tseh'-stah  and  his  people,  the 
Wyandots.  The  second  account  is  as  follows: 

Ages  and  ages  ago  the  Wyandots  were  migrating  from 
a  distant  country.  They  were  moving  all  their  villages. 
In  the  course  of  their  migration  they  came  to  a  large  river 
with  exceedingly  steep  and  rocky  shores.  This  river  be 
longed  to  some  Giants,  and  these  opposed  the  crossing  of 
the  Wyandots. 

These  Giants  were  all  medicine  men.  They  were  of  im 
mense  size,  being  as  tall  as  the  highest  tree.  They  lived 
in  the  stone  caverns  under  the  bed  of  the  river.  They  were 
cruel  and  wicked  cannibals. 

The  Wyandots  made  canoes  and  attempted  to  cross  over. 
When  a  canoe  loaded  with  Wyandots  pushed  out  into  the 
stream,  the  Giants  thrust  up  from  the  hidden  depths  of  the 
water  their  huge  hands,  dragged  down  both  canoe  and  pas 
sengers.  The  Wyandots  were  carried  to  the  stone  caverns 
of  the  Giants,  where  they  were  tortured  at  the  fiery  *take, 
and  afterwards  devoured. 

The  Wyandots  were  terrified.  They  could  neither  ad 
vance  nor  retreat.  A  solemn  Council  was  called  to  deliber 
ate  upon  their  fearful  dilemma.  At  the  Council  a  powerful 
"  medicine  "  was  made,  by  the  aid  of  which  it  wyas  learned 
that  the  Giants  could  be  captured  and  destroyed  if  a  ring  of 
fire  could  be  built  about  them  when  they  came  out  of 
their  caves  under  the  river. 

Upon  the  same  night  of  the  Council,  the  Wyandots  saw, 
on  a  high  cliff  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  the 
Giants  dancing  about  the  fires  in  which  they  were  tor 
turing  some  Wyandots  captured  a  few  days  before. 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


85 


The  Little  Turtle  said: 

"  I  can  make  a  great  fire  from  the  Lightning.  It  will 
go  all  about  the  Giants.  How  can  our-  warriors  cross  over 
the  river  ?  " 

The  Big  Turtle  said : 

"  Let  the  Little  Turtle  and  his  warriors  get  upon  my 
back.  I  will  carry  them  on  the  bottom  of  the  river,  under 
the  water,  and  the  Giants  will  not  see  us." 

It  was  so  done.  The  warriors  of  the  Little  Turtle  crept 
about  the  camp  of  the  Giants.  Then  the  Little  Turtle 
brought  the  Thunder  and  the  Lightning.  The  Lightning 
leaped  into  a.  great  wall,  all  about  the  Giants,  while  the 
Thunder  bore  them  to  the  earth.  The  warriors  of  the 
Little  Turtle  rushed  upon  the  Giants  and  seized  them. 

The  Little  Turtle  carried  the  Giants  to  a  high  rock  that 
overhung  the  river.  Here  the  head  of  each  Giant  was  cut 
off  and  thrown  down  into  the  raging  water.  But  the  sur 
prise  of  the  Wyandots,  and  their  dismay  also,  was  great 
when  at  the  dawning  of  the  day  they  saw  all  these  Giant 
Heads  rise  from  the  waters,  with  streaming  hair  covered 
with  blood  which  shone  like  lightning.  They  rose  from 
the  troubled  waters  uttering  horrible  screams,  screeches 
and  yells,  flew  along  the  river,  and  disappeared. 

The  Wyandots  destroyed  the  caves  of  the  Giants.  They 
then  crossed  over  the  river  and  continued  their  journey. 
They  came  to  the  point  where  Montreal  now  stands. 

The  Flying  Heads  plagued  the  Wyandots.  They  were 
more  dangerous  and  troublesome  during  rainy,  foggy,  or 
misty  weather.  They  could  enter  a  cloud  of  fog,  or  mist, 
or  rime,  and  in  it  approach  a  Wyandot  village  unseen. 
They  were  cruel  and  wicked  hooh'-kehs  and  cannibals, 


86  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

They  caused  sickness ;  they  were  vampires,  and  lay  in  wait 
for  people,  whom  they  caught  and  devoured.  They  carried 
away  children ;  they  blighted  the  tobacco  and  other  crops ; 
they  stole  and  devoured  the  game  after  the  hunter  had 
killed  it. 

Fire  was  the  most  potent  agency  with  which  to  resist 
them.  The  Lightning  sometimes  killed  one.  The  Little 
People  often  helped  the  Wyandots  drive  them  away  from 
their  villages.  I  could  never  learn  that  it  was  supposed 
that  the  Flying  Heads  were  ever  either  entirely  expelled  or 
that  they  voluntarily  departed  from  the  Wyandot  country. 

XII.— THE   GREAT    SERPENTS. 

The  Wyandot  myths  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  Monster  Serpents.  By  some  versions  they  are  supposed 
to  be  some  of  the  monsters  made  by  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh. 
Other  accounts  make  their  origin  the  same  as  that  of  the 
Flying  Heads.  They  say  that  the  bodies  of  the  hooh'-keh 
Giants  left  on  the  high  rock  over  the  river  after  their 
heads  had  been  cut  off  and  thrown  down  did  not  die,  but 
remained  alive.  After  the  Wyandots  had  gone  on  upon 
their  migration  these  bodies  of  the  hooh'-keh  Giants  wrig 
gled  themselves  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice  and  cast  their 
bodies  down  into  the  water.  Here  they  were  soon  trans 
formed  into  the  Big  Serpents — huge  snakes  of  enormous 
length.  They  slowly  followed  the  Wyandots  in  their 
migration,  and  plagued  and  tormented  them  for  ages. 
Some  of  them  were  never  killed.  They  live  in  the  bottom 
of  the  Great  Lakes  to  this  day.  Sometimes  they  throw 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOBE  87 

the  waters  into  great  commotion,  which  can  only  be  allayed 
by  throwing  some  offering  into  the  lake. 

The  rivers  joining  the  Great  Lakes  are  only  the  worn 
ways  made  by  these  monsters  in  crawling  from  one  lake  to 
another. 

X  III.— THE    OBIGIN    OF    THE    SNAKE    CLAN 
OF   THE   WYANDOTS. 

[The  following  is  very  nearly  the  exact  wording  of  Matthias 
Splitlog  in  his  relation  of  this  legend.  George  Wright  told  this 
almost  the  same  way.] 

We  will  commence  this  way.  The  old  Woman  and  her 
granddaughter  lived  in  a  lodge  in  the  pine  woods.  From 
the  best  hunters  and  greatest  warriors  of  the  tribe  the 
Young  Woman  had  offers  of  marriage.  She  was  haughty, 
and  would  speak  to  none  of  her  people.  These  women 
were  of  the  Deer  Clan. 

So,  it  seems  she  (the  Young  Woman)  was  wandering 
about  her  lodge  in  the  Wilderness  of  the  Pine  Woods. 
She  saw  in  the  distance  a  fine-looking  young  man.  He 
approached  her  with  insinuating  addresses.  She  desired 
him  much.  He  carried  her  away  to  his  own  lodge.  They 
lived  there  for  some  time.  His  mother  lived  in  their  lodge. 

One  day  she  went  into  the  woods.  She  left  him  lying 
down.  She  came  bacfe  to  the  lodge  and  looked  among  the 
skins  where  he  was  lying.  There  was  a  great  heap  of 
snakes.  When  she  looked  again  there  was  one  snake — a 
big  snake.  She  cried  aloud  and  was  terrified.  His 
mother  said  to  him :  "  Why  did  you  do  this  ? "  —i.  e.f 
turn  into  a  snake. 


88  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

She  turned  about  and  fled  for  life  towards  the  seacoast. 
When  she  reached  the  coast  she  found  a  man  in  a  canoe, 
who  told  her  to  jump  on  board.  When  she  had  done  so, 
he  paddled  at  lightning  speed  for  the  other  shore.  This 
act  of  the  Young  Woman  is  called  Ooh'-dah-tohn'-teh — 
She  has  left  her  village.  It  is  the  first  name  in  the  list 
for  women  belonging  to  the  Snake  Clan.  Mrs.  Sarah 
Dagnet,  a  Wjandot  of  the  Snake  Clan,  is  so  named. 

When  the  man  and  the  Young  Woman  in  the  canoe  had 
gone  some  distance  they  heard  the  Snake-Man  coming  in 
pursuit,  calling  to  his  wife  and  entreating  her  to  return. 
He  came  to  the  water,  and  waded  in  a  way  in  his  effort 
to  follow  her,  always  crying  out  to  her  to  return.  This  act 
of  the  Snake  is  called  Kah-yodh'-mehn-dah'-tah  by  the 
Wyandots,  and  signifies  entreating  without  avail,  or  crying 
to  one  your  voice  does  not  reach,  or  does  not  affect.  This 
word  is  one  of  the  oldest  names  for  men  in  the  list  belong 
ing  to  the  Snake  Clan.  James  Splitlog  of  the  Wyandot 
Reserve  is  so  named.  He  is  one  of  the  very  few  left  of 
the  Snake  Clan. 

When  the  Snake-Man  went  into  the  water  in  pursuit, 
the  Black  Cloud  rolled  across  the  sky,  and  Heh'-noh  slew 
him  with  a  fiery  dart. 

The  man  with  whom  she  embarked  conveyed  her  safely 
to  the  other  shore.  Upon  her  arrival  there  she  saw  a  man 
who  said,  "  Follow  me."  He  took  her  to  a  medicine  man. 
Her  children  were  called  Snakes.  And  from  these  is  de 
scended  the  Snake  Clan  of  the  Wyandots. 

This  Snake  or  Snake-Man,  was  short  and  heavy,  in  shape 
much  like  the  cow-buffalo.  He  had  horns  like  the  Deer. 
It  was  supposed  that  the  Snake  was  given  horns  as  a 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  89 

concession  to  the  clan  of  the  woman  he  hoped  to  retain  as 
his  wife. 

There  are  several  forms  of  this  legend. 

XIV.— THE  WITCH  BUFFALOES. 

In  the  land  of  Silence,  Tseh'-stah  made  the  largest  and 
most  beautiful  Spring  in  all  his  dominions.  This  is 
now  the  Big  Bone  Licks  in  Boone  county,  Kentucky.  It 
is  "  the  big  Spring  which  flowed  in  ancient  times,"  and 
which  may  be  properly  rendered  "  The  Great  Ancient 
Spring."  The  modern  Wyandot  name  for  it  is  Oh'-tseh- 
yooh'-mah,  "  The  Spring  of  bitter  water." 

Tseh'-stah  made  this  spring  at  this  point  because  here 
stood  the  lodge  of  Shooh-tah'-ah,  with  whom*  dwelt  the 
Woman  that  fell  down  from  heaven.  The  Two  Children 
were  born  here.  From  this  Spring,  which  was  then  small, 
drank  "  The  Man  of  Fire  "  and  "  The  Man  of  Flint,"  in 
the  days  of  their  childhood. 

As  enlarged  by  Tseh'stah  the  Ancient  Spring  was  so 
broad  that  the  eye  could  not  see  from  one  bank  to  the 
other.  Its  waters  were  so  clear  that  the  smallest 
pebble  could  be  seen  at  the  bottom  of  its  inconceivable 
depths.  Then  it  was  the  "  Great  Ancient  Spring."  As 
modified  by  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  it  was  reduced  to  its  pres 
ent  size  and  became  Oh'-tseh-yooh'-mah,  "  The  Spring  of 
bitter  water." 

The  Wyandots  described  these  Springs  as  "  the  great  and 
ancient  Spring  where  the  bones  are  and  where  the  animals 
come  to  drink  and  to  see  each  other." 

Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  made  a  great  drum  or  gong,  of  stone 


90  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

or  flint,  and  put  it  at  these  Springs.  He  put  in  charge  of 
the  Springs  the  Witch  Buffaloes,  who  made  unjust  rules 
and  oppressive  regulations  for  the  government  of  the 
Indians  and  animals  coming  to  use  the  waters.  Elks  were 
admitted  to  the  Springs ;  when  they  had  been  there  a  stated 
time  they  were  forced  out,  and  buffaloes  admitted,  and  so  of 
all  the  animals.  The  Witch  Buffaloes  indicated  their 
wishes,  and  gave  forth  their  orders  and  commands  by 
beating  on  the  great  drum  of  flint,  which  could  be  heard 
as  far  as  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  Witch  Buffaloes  are  represented  as  having  been  as 
tall  as  a  tree,  with  horns  as  long  as  a  man  is  high.  Their 
horns  stood  straight  out  from  their  foreheads.  They  are 
always  spoken  of  in  the  feminine  gender. 

So  oppressive  became  the  Witch  Buffaloes  that  no  ani 
mal  was  free  to  approach  the  Springs,  and  thus  were  the 
Wyandots  prohibited  from  lying  in  wait  to  slay  them  for 
food  as  they  came  to  drink.  Neither  were  the  Wyandots 
allowed  to  go  there  to  make  salt.  Finally  the  Little  People 
took  pity  on  the  Wyandots  and  resolved  to  destroy  the 
Witch  Buffaloes. 

Two  of  the  Little  People  were  directed  to  go  to  the 
Springs  to  perform  this  difficult  task.  It  required  long 
preliminary  work  to  make  ready  for  the  slaughter.  When 
all  was  ready  they  attacked  the  Witch  Buffaloes  and  slew 
all  but  a  single  one,  which  they  wounded,  and  which  only 
escaped  by  so  enormous  a  leap  that  it  passed  beyond  the 
Great  Lakes  at  the  single  bound.  After  the  Witch  Buffa 
loes  were  killed  and  expelled,  the  Little  People  assembled 
all  the  animals  and  said  to  them  and  to  the  Wyandots, 
"  Drink  as  you  will.  We  are  forever  the  keepers  of  the 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOBE  91 

Oh'-tseh-yooL'-mah."  The  great  number  of  huge  bones 
found  by  white  men  at  the  Big  Bone  Licks  were  the  bones 
of  the  Witch  Buffaloes. 

The  footprints  of  the  two  Little  People  can  be  yet  seen 
in  the  stones  all  over  that  part  of  Kentucky  about  these 
Springs.  They  made  them  while  driving  all  the  Witch 
Buffaloes  to  the  Springs  for  slaughter.  At  some  points 
may  be  seen  also  the  impressions  of  their  bodies  and  of 
their  bows  and  quivers  on  the  stone  where  they  sat  or  lay 
down.  So  say  the  legends  of  the  Wyandots. 

XV.— THE   STONE   GIANTS. 

Like  the  Elying  Heads,  the  Stone  Giants,  or  Hooh'- 
strah-dodh',  are  attributed  to  two  sources.  By  one  account 
they  were  descended  from  the  Hooh'-keh  Giants  and  the 
Wyandot  women  they  carried  away  with  them  when  they 
fled  through  the  Wyandot  camp.  I  believe  it  improbable 
that  the  Wyandots  would  ascribe  the  descent  of  so  obnox 
ious  a  people  to  women  of  their  own  blood,  and  conse 
quently,  I  believe  this  conception  of  their  origin  must 
have  originated  with  an  alien  and  unfriendly  people.  But 
of  this  I  cannot  be  sure,  for  I  heard  this  account  from 
Wyandots  only,  and  more  frequently  than  the  other  ac 
count. 

The  second  account  says  the  Hooh'-strah-dddh'  were 
made  by  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  to  assist  him  in  the  war  he  so 
wantonly  and  unjustly  waged  against  his  brother,  Tseh'- 
stah,  and  wherein  he  lost  his  life. 

The  Hooh'-strah-dooh'  were  medicine  men  as  well  as 
Giants.  They  were  clad  in  coats  of  pliable  stone.  These 


92  TWENTIETH    CENTUBY   CLASSICS 

pmnents  are  represented  as  covering  the  body  completely. 
Their  stone  coats  were  made  by  smearing  the  crude  turpen 
tine  from  the  pine  tree  over  their  bodies,  and  then  rolling 
in  the  dry  sand  of  the  shores  of  the  Great  Water.  This 
process  was  repeated  until  the  coats  were  of  the  required 
thickness. 

The  Hooh'-strah-dooh'  were  cannibals.  They  slew  the 
Wyandots  for  the  express  purpose  of  devouring  their 
bodies.  They  are  represented  as  having  been  half-a-tree 
tall,  and  large  in  proportion.  A  Hooh'-strah-dooh'  could 
eat  three  Wyandots  at  a  single  meal. 

There  is  no  account  of  any  particular  war  between  the 
Wyandots  and  the  Hooh'-strah-ddoh'.  The  Wyandots 
seem  to  have  been  annoyed  and  plagued  by  them  from  time 
immemorial;  and  always  to  have  been  in  terror  of  them. 
Sometimes  they  combined  in  great  numbers  and  attacked 
one  of  the  Hooh'-strah-dooh'.  If  by  any  great  good-fortune 
a  chance  arrow  reached  one  of  the  vulnerable  points  (eyes, 
mouth,  etc.)  the  Wyandots  were  victorious;  if  no  such 
good-fortune  attended  them  in  the  unequal  combat,  a 
bundle  of  blood-stained,  dripping  Wyandot  slain  was 
carried  from  the  fatal  field  on  the  back  of  the  victorious 
and  bloodthirsty  Stone  Giant  for  his  supper. 

The  Wyandots  sought  the  aid  of  the  Little  People  in 
an  effort  to  expel  or  conquer  the  Stone  Giants.  After  a 
long  contest  they  were  divested  of  their  stone  coats,  and 
so  far  reduced  that  they  did  not  dare  to  openly  attack  the 
Wyandots  again.  But  they  lived  in  solitary  places,  and 
attacked  hunters  and  travelers  that  slept  at  night  in  the 
woods.  A  favorite  stratagem  of  theirs  was  to  enter  the 
dead  body  of  some  Wyandot  that  had  died,  in  a  solitary 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


93 


hut,  alone.  When  his  friends  discovered  him,  or  a  belated 
traveler  stopped  at  the  hut,  and  slept,  the  Stone  Giant  ani 
mated  the  corpse,  which  stealthily  slew  and  devoured  the 
unfortunate  sleepers.  A  "  medicine  "  made  of  the  bark  of 
the  deh'-tah-tseh'-ah,  or  red-bud  tree,  was  supposed  to  afford 
the  Wyandots  complete  protection  from  such  attacks  "of 
the  conquered  Stone  Giants. 

The  deh'-tah-tseh'-ah,  or  red-bud,  was,  in  a  sense,  a 
sacred  tree  with  the  Wyandot  people.  Its  name  means 
"  the  fire  tree/'  and  when  its  scarlet  bloom  flames  along  the 
bleak  hillsides  in  the  early  spring  the  Wyandots  say  that 
Tseh'-stah  is  returning  again,  and  bringing  with  him  the 
spring. 

XVI.— ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAWK  CLAN  OF  THE 
WYANDOTS. 

The  Big  Bird  was  the  Ruler  or  Mighty  Chief  "of  all  the 
Eagles,  Hawks,  Owls,  and  other  birds  of  prey,  as  his  name 
indicates.  He  lived  on  the  top  of  a  rock  so  high  that  the 
clouds  shut  out  all  view  of  the  lower  world. 

A  Wyandot  Girl  was  too  proud  to  live  with  her  clan, 
the  name  of  which  is  not  now  remembered.  She  was  -  an 
orphan,  and  lived  with  her  grandmother.  They  lived  in 
the  woods,  close  to  a  large  open  space,  or  prairie.  They 
were  almost  starved,  for  there  was  no  hunter,  and  no  meat 
in  the  lodge.  The  Girl  was  disconsolate  and  melancholy. 
She  wandered  about  the  prairie  and  in  the  woods. 

One  day  she  was  walking  in  the  prairie  close  to  the 
borders  of  the  forest.  Suddenly,  as  she  went  along,  a 
great  cloud  overshadowed  her.  When  she  looked  up,  be- 


94  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

hold !  the  cloud  was  descending  upon  her,  and  with  huge 
claws  to  catch  her!  Then  she  saw  that  it  was  the  Great 
Bird  Chief. 

The  Girl  ran  as  fast  as  she  could  to  the  woods  near  by. 
There  she  found  a  great  log  which  was  hollow;  she  crept 
into  it.  The  Bird  Chief  followed  her  and  alighted  upon 
the  log.  He  gave  a  mighty  flap  with  his  immense  wings, 
and  the  blast  caused  thereby  was  a  storm  that  leveled  the 
forest.  At  the  same  time  he  exclaimed  "  kooh-koohks !  " 
(I  will  claw!)  and  his  voice  was  like  a  thunder-crash. 
Then  he  seized  the  log  in  his  terrible  talons,  and  carried 
both  log  and  Girl  to  the  top  of  the  precipice  where  he  had 
his  home.  He  lay  the  log  down  upon  the  edge  of  the 
height  and  shook  it  to  make  the  Girl  come  out.  But  she 
would  not  do  so. 

The  Girl  waited  until  the  Bird  Chief  went  away ;  then 
she  came  out  of  the  log.  She  looked  about  and  could  see 
only  the  clouds  beating  upon  the  crag.  She  could  not  climb 
down.  She  found  a  large  nest  upon  the  crag-top,  and  in 
it  two  young  birds,  each  larger  than  an  elk.  All  about  lay 
dead  deer,  buffaloes,  and  other  animals,  which  the  Bird 
Chief  had  brought  up  for  his  young  to  eat.  She  found 
that  the  wife  of  the  Bird  Chief  had  been  slain  and  thrown 
down  from  the  pinnacle-top  by  him  while  he  was  in  a 
fury ;  and  he  was  compelled  himself  to  catch  all  the  animals 
used  for  food  by  his  young. 

The  Bird  Chief  was  a  medicine  man,  and  could  assume 
any  form  he  chose.  He  came  back  to  his  lodge  on  the  top 
of  the  rock,  in  the  form  of  a  young  man.  She  was  his 
wife  (partner — more  properly,  friend)  there  in  the  clouds, 
on  the  pinnacle-top.  But  she  despised  him,  and  longed 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


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to  escape ;  of  this,  however,  she  had  little  hope.  It  finally 
occurred  to  her,  though,  that  she  might  escape  by  the  aid  of 
the  young  birds.  She  chose  the  larger  one  to  aid  her.  She 
fed  him  well,  and  he  grew  rapidly.  It  was  not  long  until  he 
could  fly  off  a  way  and  then  return  to  the  rock.  She 
thought  her  time  of  escape  was  approaching. 

She  watched  the  Bird  Chief  narrowly,  and  had  learned 
by  this  time  when  he  went  away,  how  long  he  remained 
absent,  and  when  he  returned.  She  prepared  a  short 
stick.  One  day  when  the  young  bird  approached  the 
edge  of  the  rock,  she,  at  the  opportune  moment,  sprang 
upon  his  back,  and  clasped  him  tightly  about  the  neck. 
The  sudden  action  of  the  Girl  carried  the  young  bird  over 
the  precipice,  and  away  they  went,  Girl  and  bird,  tumbling 
down  the  crag.  In  a  little  while  the  young  bird  spread  his 
wings,  caught  himself,  and  flew.  When  he  did  not  go 
down  fast  enough  she  tapped  him  on  the  top  of  the  head 
with  the  stick  to  make  him  descend  the  more  rapidly. 
After  awhile  she  could  see  the  land. 

When  they  were  about  to  get  to  the  ground  she  heard  the 
Bird  Chief  coming  down  in  pursuit.  The  whistling  and 
trumpeting  he  made  in  his  rage  were  terrible  to  listen  to. 
She  tapped  the  young  bird's  head  again  and  again,  and 
finally  got  to  land.  She  jumped  from  the  young  bird's 
back,  plucked  the  long  feathers  from  his  wings  so  he 
could  not  fly  after  her,  then  ran  into  the  thick  brush  and 
hid  in  a  hole  in  the  rock. 

When  the  Bird  Chief  came  down  to  the  ground  he 
searched  everywhere  for  the  Girl,  but  could  not  find  her. 
The  young  bird  was  very  uncomfortable  in  these  lower 
regions,  and  was  continually  crying  out  that  he  wanted  to 


96  TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 

be  carried  back  to  the  pinnacle.  After  a  long  and  fruit 
less  search  for  the  Girl,  the  Bird  Chief  heeded  the  cries 
of  his  helpless  son,  and,  taking  him  in  his  talons,  circled 
about,  and  finally  disappeared  in  the  clouds.  Then  the 
Girl  gathered  up  the  feathers  which  she  had  plucked  from 
the  wings  of  the  young  bird,  and  carried  them  to  the  hut 
where  her  grandmother  lived. 

The  children  of  the  Girl  were  called  Hawks.  Each  one 
was  given  a  feather  of  those  plucked  by  the  mother  from 
the  young  bird's  wings.  These  Hawks  became  the  an 
cestors  of  the  Hawk  Clan  of  the  Wyandots. 

XVII.— HOW  THE  WYANDOTS  OBTAINED  THE 
TOBACCO  PLANT. 

The  village  stood  by  the  lake.  Clear  streams  flowed  into 
the  lake  from  the  hills.  On  the  hills  were  large  trees. 
The  Hawk  Clan  lived  in  this  village.  In  the  village  lived 
an  old  man  of  the  Bear  Clan.  He  had  a  young  wife  of 
the  Hawk  Clan.  Two  daughters  were  born  to  them. 
When  she  was  twelve  years  old  the  first  daughter  died. 
Much  grief  did  her  death  bring  to  the  Old  Man  and  his 
young  wife.  When  the  second  daughter  reached  the  age 
of  twelve,  she,  too,  was  seized  with  a  fatal  sickness,  and 
soon  died,  also.  And  the  mother  soon  died  of  grief.  The 
Old  Man  was  left  alone  in  the  lodge,  in  deep  sorrow. 
But  he  went  about  to  do  good.  He  was  held  in  much 
esteem  by  all  the  village  of  the  Hawk  people. 

One  day  when  the  Old  Man,  and  others  of  the  village, 
were  standing  by  the  lake,  a  large  flock  of  immense 
Hawks,  half-a-tree  tall,  came  flying  over  the  blue  hills,  10 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


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the  lake.  They  wheeled  and  circled  about  the  lake  and  its 
shores.  One  of  their  number  fell  to  the  ground.  It  lay 
on  the  lake-shore,  with  its  wings  thrown  above  its  back 
like  a  dove  shot  with  an  arrow.  The  other  Hawks  flew 
about  for  a  short  time.  They  screamed  and  called  to  each 
other.  Then  they  flew  back  over  the  blue  hills  from 
whence  they  came. 

The  visit  of  the  Great  Hawks  to  the  lake  terrified  the 
people  in  the  village.  And  those  standing  on  the  bank  of 
the  lake  by  the  Old  Man  ran  about  and  called  aloud, 
from  fright.  The  Old  Man  was  not  frightened  by  the 
Great  Hawks.  He  said,  "  I  will  go  and  see  the  stricken 
Hawk  that  fell  down.7'  The  people  said,  "  Do  not  go  to 
the  Hawk."  But  the  Old  Man  replied,  "  I  am  old.  My 
life  is  almost  done.  The  heavens  are  black.  I  am  full  of 
sorrow.  I  am  alone.  It  can  matter  little  if  I  die.  And 
I  am  not  afraid  of  death.  I  will  see  the  stricken  Hawk.1' 

He  went  on.  The  way  grew  dark.  But  the  Hawk  lying 
on  the  ground  remained  before  him.  As  he  advanced  a 
great  flame  swept  down  and  consumed  the  Hawk.  When 
he  came  to  where  it  had  lain,  ashes  were  all  about.  Lying 
in  these  was  a  living  coal  of  fire  in  which  he  saw  his  first 
born  daughter.  He  stooped  to  look.  He  saw  it  was  indeed 
his  daughter.  He  took  her  up.  She  spoke  to  him.  Then 
the  other  people  of  the  village  came  also.  The  child  spoke 
to  them.  She  said,  "I  have  returned  with  a  precious 
gift  for  the  Wyandots.  I  am  sent  with  it  to  my  own  clan, 
the  Hawk  people." 

Then  she  opened  her  hands.  They  were  full  of  very 
small  seeds.  These  she  planted  in  the  ashes  of  the  fire 

—  7 


98 


TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 


from  which  she  had  risen.  Soon  a  large  field  of  Tobacco 
grew  from  the  little  seeds. 

The  Girl  lived  with  her  people.  She  taught  them  how  to 
cultivate  and  cure  the  Tobacco.  She  taught  them  to  make 
offerings  of  it,  and  to  smoke  it  in  pipes. 

And  the  Wyandots  were  thus  more  fortunate  than  any 
other  people.  They  alone  had  Tobacco. 

[There  are  other  forms  of  this  myth.] 

XVIII.— THE    LAZY    HUNTER    WHO    WISHED 
TO    GET   MARRIED. 

Once  there  was  a  very  lazy  and  worthless  man  in  a 
Wyandot  village.  He  had  never  killed  any  game.  He 
was  regarded  with  scorn  by  the  women,  and  with  indiffer 
ence  by  the  men.  When  he  sought  a  wife  he  was  an 
swered  by  the  damsel,  "  No  meat  can  be  found  in  your 
lodge;  woman  likes  meat." 

The  great  desire  he  had  for  a  wife  forced  him  to  try 
to  get  some  meat  for  his  lodge.  On  a  warm  day  in  summer 
he  went  into  the  woods  about  the  village  with  his  war-club. 
The  first  animal  which  he  saw  was  an  opossum.  This  he 
slew  with  his  war-club.  He  seized  it  by  the  tail  and  flung 
it  over  his  shoulder;  and  he  marched  to  the  village  with 
his  game.  Elies  swarmed  upon  his  opossum.  In  the 
village  when  he  stepped  over  a  log  or  jumped  across  a 
brook  the  flies  rose  in  clouds  and  hummed  about  his  ears. 
But  he  believed  that  the  noise  of  the  wings  of  the  flies 
was  the  clamor  of  the  maidens  of  the  village  in  determin 
ing  whom  of  them  should  have  him  for  a  husband,  and 
in  admiration  of  his  prowess  as  a  hunter.  However,  none 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


99 


of  them  accosted  him  with  a  proposal  to  be  his  wife.  At 
the  extreme  edge  of  the  village  he  met  some  hunters  coming 
in  with  game.  To  these  he  complained  of  his  ill  success 
in  getting  a  wife.  The  hunters  were  greatly  amused, 
and  set  upon  him  in  so  boisterous  a  way  that  he  threw 
down  his  opossum  and  fled  into  the  woods.  And  he  is 
running  about  there  to  this  day,  in  a  vain  search  for 
game  with  which  to  get  a  wife. 

XIX.— THE   TATTLER. 

There  is  a  small  bird  in  the  Wyandot  country,  about 
the  size  of  and  much  like  the  tomtit.  He  has  a  light  or 
grayish  head,  and  black  circles  around  his  eyes.  The 
Wyandots  believe  him  to  be  a  great  tattler  or  tale-bearer — 
a  mischief-making  liar — and  that  these  black  rings  about 
his  eyes  are  the  result  of  injury  received  from  some  bird 
whom  he  has  harmed  by  his  lying.  For  this  reason  the 
bird  is  called  Tah'-teh-zhah'-eh-zhah'-eh—  The  Tattler. 
A  lying  man  or  woman  is  given  this  same  name  by  the 
Wyandots. 

XX.— SUPERSTITIONS. 

Many  superstitions  are  believed  in  to  this  day  by  the 
Wyandots.  Perhaps  some  of  them  are  those  of  white 
people.  Others  are  of  Indian  origin. 

One  of  these  is  the  seeing  of  the  soul  of  a  person. 
Often  persons  that  are,  known  to  be  miles  away,  or  to  be 
sick  in  bed,  are  met  on  the  highway,  usually  at  the 
crossings  of  streams;  or  they  are  seen  walking  about  the 
fields  and  paths.  If  they  are  seen  in  the  forenoon  the 


100  TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 

omen  is  good  for  the  person  so  seen,  and  the  earlier  seen 
the  better  the  omen.  But  if  seen  in  the  afternoon  the 
omen  for  the  person  so  seen  is  bad,  and  if  after  sunset 
and  before  midnight  it  indicates  that  the  person  so  seen 
will  die  in  a  short  time. 

The  medicine  men  and  medicine  women  were  supposed 
to  possess  the  power  to  assume  the  form  and  nature  of  any 
animal  they  chose  for  the  purpose.  Under  this  guise  they 
were  supposed  to  go  about  the  neighborhood  and  commit 
such  depredations  as  the  animal  was  capable  of.  If  the 
animal  was  killed,  the  person  was  killed ;  if  only  wounded, 
the  person  carried  a  similar  wound.  This  belief  gave  rise 
to  the  story  of 

THE  BIG  DOG. — Once,  in  Wyandotte  county,  Kansas, 
the  Wyandots  were  troubled  by  the  prowling  of  a  vicious 
dog  of  enormous  size  and  strength.  This  dog  was 
seen  only  at  night.  Calves,  lambs  and  pigs  were 
killed  by  it.  Any  article  of  household  furnishing 
left  outdoors  overnight  was  usually  torn  and  soiled, 
if  not  totally  destroyed.  Belated  travelers  were  attacked 
and  often  severely  injured.  The  favorite  dogs  of  the 
Wyandots  were  maimed,  crippled,  killed.  Gardens  and 
flower-beds  were  trampled  down  and  ruined.  Smoke 
houses  were  invaded,  and  hams,  shoulders,  jowls  and 
middlings  carried  away.  Hencoops  were  overturned,  and 
havoc  played  with  their  feathered  occupants.  Flocks  of 
geese  and  ducks  were  chased,  worried,  destroyed. 

Terror  reigned.  Lovers  did  not  'stroll  in  the  moonlight. 
Husbands  ascertained  that  they  could  transact  their  busi 
ness  in  "  Kansas,"  take  aboard  a  reasonable  amount  of 
"  fire-water,"  and  still  reach  home  before  dark.  Live- 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LOBE  101 

stock  was  housed,  and  it  was  observed  that  "  breachy " 
kine  which  had  before  delighted  in  the  nocturnal  destruc 
tion  of  a  neighbor's  crop,  huddled  close  to  the  yard 
fences  at  sunset,  and  there  demurely  chewed  the  cud  of 
content  till  the  sun  was  well  up  on  the  following  morning. 
Things  came  to  such  a  pass  that  Captain  Bull-Head 
was  importuned  to  deliver  the  people  from  the  pest  and 
nuisance.  He  made  "  medicine/'  and  ascertained  that 
this  dog  was  in  fact  an  old  woman  of  the  Wyandots, 
noted  for  her  malevolence  and  cynicism.  He  loaded  the 
old  British  blunderbuss  which  he  had  carried  in  the  ranks 
of  Proctor's  army  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  loaded  it  accord 
ing  to  the  formula  prescribed  by  Wyandot  superstition  for 
"witch-killing,"  for  no  ordinary  bullet  and  gunpowder 
had  any  effect  upon  witches.  The  night  which  followed 
his  preparations  was  damp  and  rainy.  Sheets  of  red 
lightning  flared  up  from  the  horizon,  and  a  sullen  thunder 
growled  and  rolled  and  bellowed  in  the  distance.  It  was 
such  a  night  as  witches  delight  to  be  abroad  in.  About 
ten  o'clock  a  hubbub  was  raised  in  Captain  Bull-Head's 
pig-pen.  He  advanced  to  the  rescue,  and  upon  his  arrival 
there  the  Big  Dog  bounded  out  of  the  inclosure.  As  it 
went  over  the  fence  the  Captain  fired,  and  a  terrific  howl 
went  up,  but  the  Big  Dog  disappeared  and  was  never 
seen  again.  And  lo!  the  next  morning  this  same  old 
Wyandot  woman  was  found  to  have  a  badly  wounded  foot ! 
And  what  though  she  told  of  falling?  The  whole  com 
munity  was  sure  that  Captain  Bull-Head  had  shot  her  as 
she  jumped  over  the  walls  of  his  pig-sty ! 


102 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


XXI.— WHY   THE    AUTUMNAL   FORESTS    ARE 
MANY-COLORED. 

The  Animals  were  angry  with  the  Deer  for  deserting 
them  and  forsaking  the  Great  Council  to  go  into  the  sky. 
They  believed  that  all  should  have  gone  up  together. 

The  Bear  was  the  second  animal  to  go  into  the  sky  by 
way  of  the  beautiful  pathway  of  burning  colors  laid  down 
by  the  Rainbow.  When  the  Bear  had  come  up,  he  said 
to  the  Deer: 

"  Why  did  you  leave  us  to  come  into  the  sky,  the  land 
of  the  Little  Turtle?  Why  did  you  desert  the  Great 
Council  ?  Why  did  you  not  wait  until  all  could  come  with 
you?" 

The  Deer  said: 

"  None  but  the  Wolf  may  question  why  I  came.  I  will 
slay  you  for  your  impertinence." 

Then  the  Deer  arched  his  neck ;  he  poised  his  antlered 
head ;  the  hair  stood  erect  along  his  back ;  his  eyes  blazed 
with  the  fires  of  a  fury  which  burned  within  him. 

The  Bear  was  not  afraid.  He  stood  up.  His  claws 
were  very  strong.  His  hoarse  growls  sounded  along  the 
sky. 

The  battle  of  the  Deer  and  the  Bear  shook  the  heavens. 
The  Animals  looked  up  from  the  Great  Island.  They  di 
rected  the  Wolf  to  go  up  to  the  sky  and  stop  the  conflict. 

The  Wolf  made  the  Deer  desist.  But  the  blood  of  the 
Bear  dripped  from  the  antlers  of  the  Deer  as  he  ran 
away.  It  fell  down  upon  the  leaves  of  the  trees  on  the 
Great  Island.  Every  year  when  autumn  paints  the  foliage 


WYANJDOT    FOLK-LORE  103 

of  the  land  such  beautiful  colors  the  Wyandots  say  it  is  but 
the  blood  of  the  Bear  again  thrown  down  from  heaven. 

[The  beauties  of  the  autumn  foliage  are  also  accounted  for  in 
another  and  different  story,  in  which  it  is  said  that  the  Trees  wept 
tears  of  blood  at  the  loss  of  the  Animals  when  they  went  into  the 
sky  to  live  permanently.  This  was  in  the  autumn.  At  that  sea 
son  of  the  year  the  Trees  take  on  these  beautiful  colors  in  memory 
of  that  season  of  deep  grief  when  they  wept  in  an  agony  of  bloody 
tears.] 

XXII.— OKIGIN  OF  THE  MEDICINE  FOKMULAS 
OF  THE  WYANDOTS. 

Like  all  other  Indians,  the  Wyandots  depended  for  the 
cure  of  diseases  much  more  upon  that  "  medicine  "  which 
consisted  in  supernatural  agencies,  than  upon  remedies 
compounded  from  rational  ingredients.  The  tribe  was, 
however,  in  possession  of  formulas  for  the  cure  of  some 
diseases,  wounds,  and  injuries.  Some  of  these,  combined 
with  the  mode  of  life,  vigor  of  constitution,  and  scant  diet 
of  the  Indian,  were  of  considerable  efficacy.  They  were, 
too,  of  undoubted  antiquity.  To  enhance  the  potency  and 
virtue  of  these  formulas,  their  origin  was  attributed  to  a 
supernatural  manifestation  in  favor  of  the  Wyandots. 
The  myth  made  to  preserve  this  divine  interposition  and 
to  perpetuate  it  in  the  Wyandot  tribe  is  as  follows : 

Far  to  the  north  of  Quebec  there  is  a  great  mountain. 
It  is  covered  with  mighty  forests,  the  leaves  of  which  are 
always  as  red  as  blood.  This  is  the  result  of  the  great 
quantity  of  the  blood  of  the  Bear  which  was  here  thrown 
down  from  the  sky  in  the  battle  between  that  Animal  and 
the  Deer.  ]STo  amount  of  rain  which  has  fallen  in  that  land 


104  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

has  ever  been  sufficient  to  wash  away  these  blood-stains 
from  this  mountain,  which  is  supposed  to  be,  in  a  way, 
and  to  some  degree,  sacred  to  the  bears  of  this  lower  world. 

A  Wyandot  and  his  wife  were  once  going  from  one 
village  of  the  tribe  to  another.  When  they  had  ascended 
the  high  mountain  below  which  was  the  lake,  they  were 
passing  through  a  deep  forest  of  dark  pines.  Here  they 
were  suddenly  surrounded  by  a  great  company  of  Bears, 
who  came  tumbling  down  into  the  path  or  trail  from  the 
hillside  above.  There  was  no  opportunity  of  escape,  and 
as  the  Bears  did  not  offer  to  molest  them,  the  man  and 
his  wife  came  to  some  reassurance.  Not  only  did  the  com 
pany  of  Bears  show  no  inclination  to  injure  the  Wyandots, 
but  to  their  extreme  astonishment  the  largest  Bear,  who 
seemed  to  be  the  leader  of  the  company,  stood  erect  on  his 
hinder  legs,  and  said  to  them: 

"  You  must  go  with  us  to  our  home  in  the  Red  Moun 
tains.  There  you  must  both  remain  until  it  is  our  pleasure 
to  dismiss  you." 

The  man  and  his  wife  supposed  that  they  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  some  very  cunning  and  dangerous 
hooh'-kehs  who  had  assumed  the  form  of  the  bear.  They 
were  much  frightened.  But  as  resistance  would  have 
caused  them  to  be  instantly  torn  in  pieces,  they  went 
quietly  enough  in  company  with  the  Bears.  These  proved 
no  bad  companions  of  the  road,  either.  I  suppose  no 
more  jolly  company  of  Bears  ever  lived  anywhere,  either 
in  the  Red  Range  or  out  of  it.  They  frolicked  by  the 
way,  and  were  continually  playing  pranks  upon  each  other. 
They  danced  in  the  openings.  They  tumbled  in  the  dry 
leaves.  They  cuffed  each  other.  They  turned  summersaults 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE 


105 


on  the  stretches  of  soft  moss.  They  rolled  down  the  steep 
hillsides  which  came  in  their  way.  They  made  the  forests 
ring  with  their  shouts,  their  hoarse  growls,  and  their 
laughter.  Indeed,  so  much  like  a  company  of  young 
Wyandots  about  the  village  did  these  Bears  demean  them 
selves  that  the  man  lost  his  fear,  threw  aside  his  restraint, 
and  joined  them  in  their  sports.  He  received  many  a 
rough  tumble  in  the  wrestling,  many  a  sound  cuff  in  the 
boxing,  many  a  mishap  in  the  tumbling.  But  he  took 
these  with  such  grace  and  good-huinor  that  it  was  soon 
clear  that  he  had  gained  a  high  place  in  the  estimation 
of  his  captors. 

As  night  was  coming  on,  the  Red  Range  came  in  sight. 
Then  the  Bears  set  up  a  great  cry  of  satisfaction.  When 
they  came  into  the  midst  of  the  Red  Hills  they  said  to 
the  man  and  his  wife: 

"  You  are  now  in  the  Red  Mountains.  These  are  sacred 
to  the  Bears.  They  are  dyed  with  the  blood  of  our  grand 
father.  A  fine  cave  with  plenty  of  dry  leaves  in  it  will 
be  given  you  for  a  home.  The  finest  nuts  in  the  world 
grow  here  on  every  side;  take  them  for  food.  Be  content 
here,  for  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  go  away." 

A  fine  cleft  in  the  rocks  was  then  shown  them;  they 
were  compelled  to  live  in  it.  They  gathered  nuts  for  food. 
But  they  desired  to  return  to  their  own  home  in  the  vil 
lage  of  the  Wyandots.  One  day  the  man  said  they  must 
try  to  escape.  They  fled  along  the  Red  Hills.  They  were 
pursued  and  quickly  overtaken  by  a  troop  of  the  Bears. 
"  See/7  said  they,  "  he  runs  away  from  those  who  give 
him  a  house  and  food.  He  deserves  death."  And,  seizing 
him,  they  threw  him  down  from  a  great  height.  He  was 


106 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


sorely  bruised,  and  all  his  bones  were  broken.  They  took 
him  up  and  carried  him  back  to  the  cave  given  him  for 
a  home. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  the  cave  the  Bears  said  to  the 
wife  that  she  must  gather  certain  leaves,  roots,  and  barks, 
which  they  named  to  her.  This  she  did,  and  the  Bears 
told  her  in  what  manner  to  compound  them.  The  sick 
man  was  given  some  of  this  "  medicine,"  and  immediately 
he  was  restored  to  his  former  good  health. 

The  next  day  he  again  attempted  to  escape  from  the 
Red  Range.  The  pursuing  Bears  came  up  with  him  in 
his  flight.  They  said :  "  See,  he  again  tries  to  run  away 
from  those  who  give  him  a  home  and  meat.  lie  deserves 
no  less  than  death  by  our  claws."  And  with  that  they  fell 
upon  him  and  nearly  rent  him  in  pieces  with  their  claws. 
They  bore  him  to  the  cave  given  him  for  a  home.  Here 
the  wife  was  once  more  directed  to  gather  leaves,  roots, 
and  the  barks  of  trees.  She  was  shown  how  to  make 
"  medicine  "  of  them.  This  she  applied  to  her  husband's 
wounds  as  directed  by  the  Bears.  And  he  was  at  once 
made  whole  again. 

In  this  manner  he  was  afflicted  with  many  kinds  oi 
diseases  and  injury,  and  in  like  manner  restored  to  health. 
One  day  the  Bears  said  to  him : 

"  We  are  friends  to  our  brethren  the  Wyandots.  We 
desire  to  show  them  the  way  to  cure  themselves  when  sick. 
We  have  afflicted  you  and  taught  your  wife  how  to  cure 
you.  She  knows  how  to  make  all  the  '  medicine.'  Carry 
this  knowledge  back  to  your  people.  Tell  them  to  honor 
the  bones  of  the  bears  slain  for  food,  and  without  fail  to 
keep  in  use  all  the  names  in  the  list  belonging  to  the  Bear 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  107 

Clan.    Do  not  suffer  any  of  them  to  be  '  thrown  away  ?  or 
to  die  from  disuse." 

After  this  speech  the  company  of  Bears  came  about 
them,  and  they  were  conducted  out  of  the  beautiful  Red 
Range  in  the  same  manner  in  which  they  were  conducted 
into  it.  They  came  to  the  village  of  the  Wyandots,  and  made 
known  to  them  what  had  befallen  them  in  the  Red  Moun 
tain  Range,  and  delivered  the  message  sent  by  the  good 
Bears  that  dwelt  therein.  And  the  formulas  brought  back 
by  the  woman  never  failed  to  cure  the  Wyandots  of  their 
ills. 

XXIII.— WHY  THE  DEER  DROPS  HIS  HORNS 
EVERY  YEAR. 

In  the  war  between  the  Twins  of  the  Woman  who  fell 
down  from  heaven  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  invaded  the  land  of 
his  brother  Tseh'-stah,  who  defeated  him  in  a  great  battle. 
Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  said  to  one  of  his  warriors: 

"  Bring  me  the  swiftest  animal  in  the  forests  of  Tseh'- 
stah." 

It  was  winter.  The  warrior  brought  him  the  Deer. 
The  Deer  was  proud  of  his  antlers.  He  held  his  head 
aloft.  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  said  to  him: 

"  This  day  must  I  flee  from  the  land  of  my  brother ; 
bear  me  away  on  your  back." 

All  the  Animals  despised  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh,  but  they 
loved  Tseh'-stah.  The  Deer  said: 

"  See  my  great  horns ;  they  will  hang  in  the  branches  of 
the  trees  as  I  run.  The  Hawk  can  carry  you  more  swiftly 
than  I." 


108  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

Then  did  the  rage  of  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  rise.  In  his 
anger  he  answered  the  Deer : 

"The  Hawk  would  say,  '  You  are  too  heavy  for  my 
wings ' ;  I  will  not  call  the  Hawk." 

Saying  this,  he  snatched  off  the  Deer's  horns,  and  then 
said  to  him: 

"  Now  flee  with  me  to  my  own  land,  for  my  brother  is 
near ;  he  seeks  my  life.  In  my  own  land  I  will  return  to 
you  your  horns." 

He  compelled  the  Deer  to  do  his  will.  But  on  the 
borders  of  his  own  land  his  brother  was  in  such  close 
pursuit  that  Tah'-weh-skah'-reh  failed  to  return  the  Deer 
his  horns;  he  fled  with  them  in  his  hands,  but  dropped 
them  when  he  escaped.  Tseh'stah  picked  up  the  horns  to 
return  them  to  the  Deer;  but  the  Deer  was  humiliated. 
He  did  not  come  forth  from  the  woods  until  late  the  next 
summer,  after  he  had  grown  another  pair  of  horns. 

To  this  day,  when  that  season  arrives  in  which  Tah'-weh- 
skah'-reh  broke  away  the  horns  of  the  Deer,  the  horns  of 
every  deer  in  the  forests  fall  off.  They  are  replaced  by 
a  pair  of  new  ones  as  soon  as  they  can  grow,  which  is 
before  the  end  of  summer. 

Tseh'-stah  retained  the  horns  of  the  Deer  for  his  weapon 
in  war.  In  the  last  battle  he  slew  his  wicked  brother, 
Tah'-weh-skah'-reh,  with  these  same  horns  by  him  so 
cruelly  torn  from  the  head  of  the  Deer. 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  109 


XXIV.— THE    SINGING    MAIDENS,    OR    THE 
ORIGIN    OF    THE    PLEIADES. 

The  pleiades  have  ever  been  favorite  stars  with  mankind. 
And  they  were  so  with  the  Wyandots.  They  believed  the 
constellation  consists  of  six  stars,  only.  The  Wyandots 
account  for  the  origin  of  this  beautiful  star-group  in  the 
following  myth: 

The  Sun  and  his  wife,  the  Moon,  had  many  children. 
Among  these  were  six  little  girls,  the  daughters  of  a  single 
birth.  They  were  beautiful,  kind,  gentle  and  loving  chil 
dren.  They  were  great  favorites  in  all  the  heavens,  for 
they  loved  to  go  about  and  do  good.  In  addition  to  their 
other  accomplishments,  they  were  the  sweetest  singers  and 
the  most  tireless  and  graceful  dancers  in  all  the  sky-land. 
They  were  called  the  Singing  Maidens. 

These  sweet  singers  often  looked  down  to  this  world. 
They  had  compassion  on  the  Wyandots  when  game  was 
scarce,  when  the  corn  was  blasted,  when  famine  threatened. 
One  day  they  said  to  their  father,  the  Sun: 

"  Let  us  go  down  to  visit  the  Wyandots  on  the  Great 
Island.  We  wish  to  sing  and  dance  in  that  land." 

The  Sun  said  in  reply,  to  his  daughters,  the  Singing 
Maidens : 

"  I  forbid  your  going  down  to  the  Great  Island  to  sing 
for  man.  Remain  in  your  own  house.  Be  content  with 
the  heavens." 

But  when  the  Sun  was  gone  to  give  light  and  heat  to  the 
Great  Island,  these  Children  of  Light,  the  Singing  Maid 
ens,  went  abroad.  They  looked  down  on  the  Great  Island. 


110  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

They  saw  the  Wyandot  villages  almost  concealed  by  the 
beautiful  woods  on  the  banks  of  the  lake.  The  glittering 
waves  rolled  in  upon  the  pebble-strewn  beach.  The  blue 
waters  reflected  the  autumn-colored  woods.  The  gulls, 
geese  and  swans  floated  at  rest  on  the  bosom  of  the  lake, 
or  soared  lazily  aloft.  The  great  crane  waded  and  fished 
among  the  water-lilies.  Little  children  ran  from  the 
village  down  to  the  beaten  shores.  They  were  merry  on 
the  yellow  sands.  They  swam  and  splashed  in  the  brilliant 
waters.  Mermaids  were  not  more  lovely  than  these  simple 
children  of  the  forest  playing  upon  the  shores  of  the  lovely 
lake  on  the  Great  Island.  This  enchanting  scene  moved 
the  Singing  Maidens  to  ecstacy.  They  cried  out: 

"  Here  is  a  more  beautiful  land  than  can  be  found  in 
the  sky.  Why  should  we  be  restrained  from  visiting  itr$ 
Let  us  now  go  down  and  dance  with  those  happy  children, 
and  sing  among  the  beautiful  trees  on  the  shore  of  the 
bright  lake." 

Then  the  Singing  Maidens  came  down  to  the  shining 
sands  on  the  lake-shore.  They  sang  for  the  happy  children, 
and  danced  upon  the  rippling  waters.  The  children  were 
charmed  with  the  Maidens;  they  clapped  their  hands; 
they  sang  for  joy;  they  ran  and  danced  along  the  wooded 
banks. 

The  music  of  the  Maidens  and  the  sounds  of  the  merry 
making  children  floated  through  the  great  trees  to  the  Wy 
andot  villages.  The  people  stood  entranced.  They  said  to 
each  other :  "  What  music  is  this  ?  We  have  not  heard 
before  so  lovely  a  song.  Let  us  see  who  visits  our  children." 
And  they  went  towards  the  lake-shore. 

When  they  saw  the  Singing  Maidens,  the  Black  Cloud 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  111 

of  the  Little  Turtle  overshadowed  the  land.  The  voice  ol 
Heh'-noh,  the  Grandfather  of  the  Wyandots,  rolled  over 
the  lake  in  thunder-tones.  It  was  the  Keeper  of  the 
Heavens  come  to  carry  up  the  truant  Singing  Maidens. 

The  Sun  was  very  angry  with  his  daughters  for  their 
disobedience.  He  said  to  them : 

"  I  will  give  you  a  place  so  far  away  that  you  can  never 
again  visit  the  Great  Island." 

Then  he  placed  them  in  a  distant  circuit  so  far  away 
in  the  land  of  the  sky  that  their  bright  and  shining  faces 
can  scarcely  be  seen.  They  look  with  love  down  to  the 
land  of  man  where  once  they  sang  on  the  billowy  lake  and 
danced  with  happy  children  on  the  shining  shore. 

And  the  Indian  mother  says  yet  to  her  child  in  the 
calm  and  silent  twilight :  "  Be  quiet  and  sit  here  at  my 
feet;  soon  we  shall  hear  the  Singing  Maidens  as  they 
dance  among  the  leaves  of  the  trees." 

XXV.— THE    IKDIAIST    GAMBLEKS  —  AN    O'EK 
TRUE   TALE.1 

"  I  will  stand  the  hazard  of  the  die." — Richard  III. 

In  the  summer  of  1Y73,  a  numerous  body  of  Indians 
from  the  Northwest  was  assembled  at  Detroit.  This  place, 
besides  being  a  military  post,  well  supplied  with  military 
stores,  was  the  great  mart  for  the  fur  trade.  The  most 
numerous  of  these  visiting  tribes  were  the  Chippewas,  the 

1  This  is  a  tradition  among  the  "Wyandots.  It  was  written  out  and  published  in  the 
Gazette,  of  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  by  Governor  William  Walker,  long  ago,  sometime  in 
the  sixties  or  early  in  the  seventies.  This  is  taken  from  the  Gazette.  It  is  told  in 
different  forms  by  the  Wyandots.  The  old  flies  of  the  Gazette  are  mines  of  information 
about  Kansas  affairs  and  early  Kansas  history.  Hon.  Geo.  W.  Martin  is  now  editor. 


112  TWENTIETH    CENTUBY    CLASSICS 

Wyandots,  and  some  Pottawatomies  and  Ottawas  resid 
ing  on  both  sides  of  the  river  now  dividing  Michigan  from 
Canada  West. 

These  annual  visits  to  the  British  headquarters  were  for 
trading  purposes;  exchanging  their  year's  hunt  for  such 
necessaries  of  Indian  use  as  could  be  supplied  by  the  trad 
ers,  such  as  blankets,  cloth,  calico,  tobacco,  guns,  ammuni 
tion,  etc.  Many  were  there  for  no  other  purpose  than 
spending  the  summer,  as  our  fashionables  do  at  watering- 
places,  in  idleness,  and  enjoying  "  fun  and  frolic."  Ball- 
plays,  foot-races,  wrestling,  and  at  night  dog  feasts  (a  re 
ligious  festival  among  the  Chippewas),  and  dances  of 
every  kind  known  among  them. 

The  chiefs  and  head  men  in  the  meantime  held  coun 
cils,  and  smoked  the  calumet  of  peace  with  the  English 
commandant,  to  hear  the  talk  of  their  great  father  the 
King  of  England,  and  to  receive  presents.  The  women 
were  employed  in  tanning  and  dressing  elk-  and  deer-skins, 
cooking,  etc. 

Games  of  chance  are  not,  as  a  passion,  confined  to  civili 
zation,  but  are  indulged  in  by  the  wild  an  uncivilized  as 
well.  Among  their  rude  games  is  one  known  as  <e  mocca 
sin."  Two  only  can  play  at  the  game.  They  are  seated 
face  to  face  on  a  buffalo-  or  deer-skin.  Eour  new  moccasins 
and  a  rifle-ball  make  up  the  implements  employed  in  the 
game. 

The  moccasins  are  placed  nearly  equidistant,  like  a  four- 
spot  on  a  playing-card.  The  players,  seated  cross-legged, 
facing  each  other,  now  toss  up  for  the  ball  or  first  "  hide." 
The  winner,  taking  the  ball  between  his  thumb  and  two 
fingers,  proceeds  with  great  dexterity,  shuffling  his  hand 


WYANDOT    FOLK-LORE  113 

under  the  first,  second,  third  and  fourth  moccasins,  and 
humming  a  ditty  accompanied  by  some  cabalistic  words 
invoking  the  aid  of  his  patron  deity.  It  now  corne^  to  the 
opposing  player  to  "find"  at. the  first,  second,  or  third 
"  lift."  If  at  the  first,  it  counts  a  given  number  in  his 
favor, — say  four ;  if  at  the  second,  two ;  and  the  third,  one. 
The  latter  player  now  takes  the  ball  and  goes  through  the 
same  process.  Ten  usually  constitutes  the  game,  but  the 
number  is  as  the  players  may  agree. 

At  this  game  a  Wyandot  and  a  Chippewa  became 
warmly  engaged,  betting  lightly  at  first  of  the  peltries 
acquired  during  the  winter's  hunt.  They  had  played  an 
hour  or  two  each  day  for  some  days ;  the  last  loser,  unwil 
ling  to  yield  the  palm  of  victory,  would  insist  upon  a  re 
newal  of  the  contest.  Thus  day  after  day  was  spent.  ~No 
ulterior  calls  or  demands  were  permitted  to  interfere  with 
or  stay  their  maddened  passion.  Success  vibrated  between 
the  two  with  provoking  uncertainty;  still  they  played  on. 
The  expostulations  of  their  respective  friends  were  fruit 
less.  Pent  up  in  a  charmed  circle  which  neither  had  the 
moral  force  to  break,  they  became  devotees  to  this  fatal 
passion.  At  length  luck  began  to  favor  the  Wyandot; 
beaver-  and  otter-skins  began  to  accumulate  upon  the  heap 
of  the  latter.  The  Chippewa7 s  pile  began  to  "  grow  small 
by  degrees  and  beautifully  less."  The  game  was  kept  up. 
At  length  the  Chippewa's  last  pelt  was  gone;  his  rifle,  in 
a  fit  of  desperation,  was  staked :  that,  too,  was  lost ! 

Here  the  protracted  game  must  end ;  but  fate  had  more 
evils,  yet  undeveloped,  to  be  brought  upon  the  tapis — 
their  evil  genius  had  more  serious  work  on  hand  for  them. 
The  Chippewa  now  offered  to  stake  his  life  against  the 

8  — 


114  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

Wyandot's  winnings.  This  was  promptly  refused.  The 
Chippewa  insisted,  becoming  frantic  with  rage,  indigna 
tion  and  desperation,  and  obstinacy  became  fury.  In  thus 
parleying,  the  Chippewa  used  some  offensive  language  to 
the  Wyandot,  who  immediately  accepted  the  challenge. 
They  resumed  their  seats.  The  game  went  on ;  perspiration 
stood  upon  the  forehead  of  the  Chippewa.  The  last  "  lift  " 
and  "  find  "  came  to  the  Wyandot — a  pause — a  "  lift  "• 
a  "  find  "  ! 

"  Lost !  lost ! !  "  frantically  exclaimed  the  unfortunate 
Chippewa.  Springing  to  his  feet  and  uttering  a  yell, 
he  bounded  off  in  the  direction  of  the  fort,  distant  about  a 
mile.  The  Wyandot,  indignant  at  such  an  act  of  craven 
poltroonery,  instantly  pursued  the  fugitive.  The  latter, 
seeing  his  enemy  in  hot  pursuit,  redoubled  his  speed. 
Doubtful  for  some  time  seemed  the  race.  The  Wyandot 
began  to  slowly  gain ;  shorter  and  shorter  became  the 
space  between  the  pursuer  and  the  fugitive.  At  length 
the  latter,  finding  escape  hopeless,  halted  and  faced  about, 
when  the  avenger  laid  his  victim  at  his  feet  by  plunging 
his  knife  deep  into  his  heart. 

Here  was  trouble.  Hitherto  the  most  amicable  relations 
had  existed  between  the  two  tribes.  The  Wyandot  sachem 
ordered  the  arrest  and  confinement  of  the  murderer  till  an 
accommodation  could  be  effected  with  the  exasperated 
Chippewas.  The  chiefs  of  the  parties  met  in  council;  a 
formal  demand  was  made  for  the  murderer;  this  was  de 
clined.  A  bonus  was  offered,  but  it  was  rejected;  other 
offers  were  made,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  mediation  of  the 
commanding  officer  was  invoked ;  he  promptly  appeared 
and  harangued  the  Chippewas  with  eloquence  and  power 


WYATTDOT    FOLK-LORE  115 

in  the  name  of  their  good  father  the  king,  and  offered  in  the 
character  of  peacemaker  an  additional  bonus  in  goods  out 
of  the  king's  storehouse.  This  intervention  met  with  no 
better  success. 

Now  the  prisoner  arose  and  addressed  the  assembly; 
first,  the  Wyandots,  requesting  them  to  cease  all  further 
efforts  in  his  behalf.  Then  turning  to  the  Chippewas,  he 
made  a  full  statement  of  what  had  occurred  between  him 
and  his  friend,  declaring  that  he  had  no  intention  of  harm 
ing  him  had  he  stood  up  like  a  brave,  nor  did  he  intend  to 
retain  his  rifle,  knowing  it  was  the  means  of  his  subsist 
ence.  "But  I  slew  him  for  Ms  cowardice/'  He  then  asked 
to  be  permitted  to  attend  the  funeral  unmolested,  pledging 
himself  to  return  and  surrender  himself  up.  This  was 
agreed  to,  but  his  liberty  was  to  extend  no  farther  than 
the  close  of  the  funeral. 

The  prisoner,  being  released  on  his  parole,  returned 
home,  dressed  and  painted  himself  in  such  manner  as  to 
appear  in  the  character  of  a  mourner,  and  armed  himself 
with  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  Thus  equipped,  he 
proceeded  to  the  Chippewa  encampment,  and  deliberately 
seated  himself  at  the  head  of  the  corpse.  The  crowd  in 
attendance  were  astonished  at  the  display  of  impudence 
and  audacity  of  the  man.  He  expected  to  be  immolated 
at  the  burial,  and  had  hinted  to  some  of  his  friends  that 
some  more  Chippewas  would  bear  him  company.  Every 
thing  being  ready,  the  funeral  party  set  out,  the  Wyandot 
walking  near  the  corpse.  Arriving  at  the  grave,  heedless 
of  their  suppressed  threats  and  angry  scowls  he  seated  him 
self  near  the  corpse.  The  burial  over,  he  arose  to  his  feet. 
A  pause,  as  if  awaiting  some  movement  or  signal,  when 


116  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

an  aged  woman,  weeping  bitterly,  approached  the  Wyan- 
dot  and  addressed  him :  "  Wyandot,  under  that  pile  oi 
earth  lies  my  only  son,  who  alone  was  my  dependence  and 
support.  He  is  your  victim.  Your  life  is  in  my  hands, 
but  I  thirst  not  for  your  blood.  I  have  no  one  to  look  to 
for  the  support  of  myself  and  these  fatherless  and  mother 
less  children.  My  pathway  is  now  dark  and  gloomy.  I 
know  not  what  to  do  now.  Will  you  take  his  place — be 
my  son,  and  a  father  to  these  children  ?  " 

The  answer  was :  "  Woman  of  the  Chippewas,  I  have 
heard  your  talk.  My  heart  was  hard,  but  your  talk,  and 
the  tears  of  yourself  and  these  children,  have  made  it 
soft.  Till  now  I  knew  nothing  of  the  family  and  rela 
tives  of  him  I  slew.  /  will  do  it.  I  will  protect  and  sup 
port  you  and  these  orphans.  I  will  be  a  son  to  you  and  a 
father  to  them.  But,"  turning  to  the  gathered  warriors, 
"  remember,  I  do  this  not  because  I  fear  your  vengeance ; 
no,  but  because  I  believe  the  Mighty  Ruler  requires  this 
atonement  at  my  hands." 

Taking  him  by  the  hand,  she  added :  "  Now  the  spirit 
of  my  son  will  depart  in  peace  to  the  beautiful  hunting- 
grounds  prepared  by  the  Manitou  for  his  Red  Children." 

Waving  her  hand  to  the  crowd  of  scowling  warriors, 
they  slowly  and  sullenly  dispersed. 

The  Wyandot  made  good  his  promise.  He  lived  to  bury 
liis  adopted  mother.  He  was  as  a  father  to  the  children. 


ANNOUNCEMENT. 


The  publication  of  the  larger  work  on  this  subject  bty 
the  author  will  follow.  It  is  hoped  that  it  will  be  in  press 
in  a  short  time.  It  is  completed.  It  contains  all  the  folk 
lore  of  the  Wyandots  that  is  in  existence,  a  full  description 
of  the  Clan  System  and  Government  of  the  ancient  Wy 
andots,  with  all  the  Wyandot  names  and  terms.  It  will 
contain  a  very  extensive  vocabulary  of  the  Wyandot  lan 
guage — the  only  one  of  any  worth  in  existence;  also  a 
study  of  the  language,  with  cuts  of  first  attempts  to  reduce 
it  to  a  written  form.  It  will  contain  also  the  old  Meth 
odist  hymns  translated  into  the  Wyandot  tongue.  In  the 
way  of  history  it  will  contain  the  important  unpublished 
writings  of  Governor  William  Walker  and  Peter  D.  Clarke, 
the  two  native  writers. 

This  is  the  only  work  ever  attempted  which  deals  in  a 
thorough  and  systematic  way  with  these  subjects  in  a 
manner  to  be  of  any  use  to  science.  But  it  will  not  be  a 
dry  and  scientific  work.  Those  competent  to  judge  have 
examined  the  manuscript,  and  pronounce  it  a  book  full  of 
interest  for  the  general  reader.  The  late  Professor  Daniel 
G.  Brinton,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of 
the  foremost  American  writers  on  these  subjects,  examined 
the  manuscript,  and  gave  it  his  unqualified  approval. 


FOSTER'S  REFERENCE  MANUAL 

....  AND  .... 

OUTLINES   IN 
UNITED  STATES  HISTORY. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTES  AND  THE  SCHOOL-ROOM 

BY 

PROFESSOR  ELI  Q.  FOSTER, 

PRINCIPAL  HARRISON  SCHOOL,  TOPEKA,  KANSAS. 


New  Edition.     Enlarged  and  Revised.     148  Pages.     Price,  Cloth,  40 
Cents ;  Paper,  30  Cents,  Delivered. 


The  distinctive  features  of  this  valuable  aid  are  — 

1.  The  outline  of  the  important  historical  events  and  great 

legislative  acts. 

2.  The  topical  outline  showing  the  development  and  progress 

of  institutional,  industrial,  and  social  life. 

3.  The  topical  outline  of  our  wars  by  campaigns,  illustrated 

by  maps. 

4.  The  novel  topical  arrangement  of  the  causes  of  National 

conflicts. 

The  whole  subject  of  the  history  of  the  United  States  outlined 
under  appropriate  topical  heads  in  a  logical  way  for  class  use. 


Acknowledged  by. leading  educators  as  the  best  work  extant  for  students 
and  teachers  of  history  in  Common  Schools,  Normal  Schools,  County  Normal 
Institutes,  Summer  Schools,  and  Colleges. 


THE  STORY  OF 

HUMAN  PROGRESS 


....  BY.... 


FRANK  W.  BLACKMAR,  Ph.  D., 


Professor  of  History  and  Sociology  in  the 
Kansas  University. 


A  brief  history  of  Civilization.    An  Elementary  Treatise 

on  the  Progress  of  the  Human  Race,  designed 

for  a  brief  survey  of  the  whole  field. 


375  Pages.     Full  Cloth.     Price,  $1.00. 


The  work  is  arranged  in  the  following  logical  steps  — 

1.  The  Nature  of  Civilization. 

2.  The  First  Steps  of  Progress. 

3.  The  Dawn  of  Civilization. 

4.  Western  Civilization. 

5.  Modern  Progress. 

A  book  of  thorough  treatment ;  of  the  highest  excellence ;  of 
the  latest  and  most  advanced  attainments  in  its  field.  It  has  been 
accorded  a  flattering  reception  by  educators,  and  it  grows  in  popu 
lar  favor. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR 

BY  CAMPAIGNS. 

....BY.... 

PROFESSOR   ELI   G.  FOSTER. 


A  New  and  Valuable  Book  in  a  field  where  one  is  much  needed. 
Intended  to  cover  this  interesting  period  in  the  history  of  our 
country  on  the  entirely  new  and  novel  plan  of  Campaigns,  with 
Campaign  Maps.  For  teachers  and  all  those  desirous  of  arriving 
at  correct  conclusions  from  the  study  of  the  Great  Conflict  in  a 
systematic  way. 

One  Volume,  300  Pages.    Full   Cloth.    $1.00,  prepaid. 


The  chief  difficulty  in  teaching  this  subject  in  the  chrono 
logical  order  is,  that  the  teacher  finds  much  difficulty  in  ascer 
taining  and  comprehending  the  true  relations  of  campaigns  to 
each  other,  and  to  the  general  conduct  of  the  war.  The  mind 
becomes  overburdened  with  facts,  dates  and  names  bearing  but 
little  relation  to  each  other.  Before  the  thread  of  a  campaign  is 
again  found  in  the  old  manner  of  study,  its  importance  has  escaped 
the  grasp  of  the  pupil,  and  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  and  review 
before  the  recitation  can  proceed.  To  remedy  this  evil  is  one  of 
the  objects  of  this  book. 

The  work   contains  a  full   set  of    colored    campaign    maps 
Among  other  things  it  includes  — 

1.  Causes  and  events  leading  to  the  war. 

2.  A  history  of  the  Navy,  and  naval  battles  of  the  war. 

3.  Financial  measures  to  provide  revenues  for  the  war. 

4.  The  opening  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

5.  Grant's  campaign  in  the  West. 

6.  Bragg's  Invasion  of  Kentucky. 

7.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

8.  Sherman's  March  to  the  Sea. 

9.  All  raids  and  campaigns  of  any  consequence. 


SOME  OF  OUR  EDUCATIONAL 
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Elementary  Studies  in  Insect  Life,  Hunter, 1.25 

Economics,  Blackmar, 1.00 

Complete  Grammar,  Ifoenshel,  (readoptedlo?  exclusive  use  in  Kansas,)    .50 

Key  and  Manual  to  Complete  Grammar,  Hoenshel, 50 

Language  Lessons  and  Elementary  Grammar,  Hoenshel, 30 

Advanced  Grammar,  Hoenshel, 60 

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Grammar  Handbook,  Jacoby, Paper,  25c.,  Cloth,    .35 

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The  Wooster  Reading  Chart, 15.00 

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